DMIA ILLEGAL RECRUITERS' FAVORITE EXIT POINT FOR VICTIMS
July 3, 2008

Vice President Noli 'Kabayan' De Castro urged concerned authorities to keep a close watch on the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga as it has become the favorite exit point for victims of illegal recruitment.

De Castro made the urgent call yesterday (July 2) after an anti-illegal recruitment composite group led by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) off-loaded five female passengers from a Malaysia-bound plane for possessing spurious travel documents.

They were intercepted at the airport following a tip from a Philippine police attache in Malaysia that the DMIA is being used by illegal recruiters as exit point for their victims.

Initial investigation showed the five women claimed they were going to Malaysia as tourists. However, further questioning prompted the five to admit that they were actually going to work in Kuala Lumpur as domestic helpers.

The composite group composed of operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group - Anti Transnational Police Crime Division (CIDG-ATCD), Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Intelligence, Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) blocked the five boarding passengers just in time before the 11:45 scheduled flight of the Air Asia commercial plane to Kuala Lumpur.

De Castro said the victims were not carrying any pocket money when apprehended, thus bolstering the authorities' suspicion that the five were not going to Malaysia as tourists.

He said the victims were not also allowed to bring cellular phones by their alleged illegal recruiter which they identified as a certain Edelsa Romero y Quiambao.

Quiambao, according to Col. Gilbert Sosa, CIDG-ATCD chief, has pending warrants of arrest for illegal recruitment and estafa. The victims said they have not met Quiambao.

Meanwhile, De Castro instructed Sosa and the enforcement officials to locate and apprehend Quiambao so that corresponding charges can be filed against her.

He commended CIDG Senior Superintendent Gilbert Sosa, BI's lawyer, Antonio Rivera, DMIA Security Group chief Gen. Jose Marlowe Pedregoza, and the other participating agents for job well done.

"While the government is doing everything to help our beloved OFWs, we are also determined to stop illegal recruitment by preventing this kind of incidents,” De Castro, who is also the presidential adviser on OFWs, said.

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