Two suspected illegal recruiters were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in General Trias, Cavite, for allegedly collecting over P200,000 from job seekers in exchange for promised work abroad that never materialized.
According to the NBI Cavite North District Office (CAVIDO), one of the suspects posed as a representative of a recruitment agency and lured victims with job offers overseas, promising salaries of at least P100,000 per month.
“They were promised at least P100,000 monthly salary and aside from that mayroong nagba-vouch na ibang tao na allegedly they were already deployed, so naniwala naman ang ating applicants sa sinasabi nito kaya sila nagbayad,” said Atty. Czar Eric Nuqui, agent-in-charge of NBI CAVIDO.
Authorities revealed that applicants were charged hefty fees covering medical expenses, processing fees, working visas, travel insurance, placement fees, and plane tickets. Some victims paid as much as P240,000 each, with total collections reaching nearly P3 million.
Despite the payments, no deployment occurred, with promises of work in countries like Austria and Croatia left unfulfilled even after years of waiting.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) confirmed that the suspects are not connected to any licensed recruitment agencies and are not authorized to offer overseas employment.
Further investigations also found that the two have pending cases of large-scale illegal recruitment in Batangas and Marinduque.
When questioned, the suspects pointed fingers at each other.
“Last year lang po kami nagkakilala. Sa sobrang tiwala po,” one suspect said.
“Pinupursigi po niya ako na ma-handle po ‘yung mga workers niya kasi matagal nang nasa kanya,” the other added.
NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin reminded the public to stay vigilant.
“Reminder to our Filipino public to avoid dealing with unregistered, unlicensed, and unauthorized personalities. Kindly check with POEA under the DMW to make sure that you are dealing with right agencies,” he said.
The suspects are now facing charges of illegal recruitment and estafa.
