VP NOLI SETS DIRECTION FOR NEWLY-APPROVED ANTI-ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT TASK FORCE
November 9, 2008

VICE President Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro vowed to wage a serious and relentless campaign against illegal recruiters following the signing by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently (October 23) of Executive Order 759 creating a task force to stop illegal recruitment in the country.

De Castro said he will direct the task to protect and safeguard the welfare of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We should attack the problem at the source by arresting illegal recruiters before they can even victimize our poor countrymen. Likewise, instead of repatriating our OFWs who suffer maltreatment, it is better to prevent them from leaving for destinations where they will only encounter problems,” De Castro said.

Led by the Office of the Vice President (OVP), the task force, De Castro said, is composed of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA), Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Just a few days after it was formally activated, the task force arrested a woman and her Turkish husband for illegal recruitment.

In a report submitted by the CIDG to De Castro , Senior Supt. Gilbert Sosa identified the suspects as Lucy Mae Ambaio a.k.a. Lucena Amba and husband Mehmet Badur.

The suspects were caught while accepting P35,000 marked money from complainant Maria Lurdes Barcelano during an entrapment operation in Antipolo City last November 6.

According to Barcelano, the suspects collected money from her and six other suspects in exchange for jobs in Canada . However, the victims found out that the suspects are not authorized by the POEA to recruit overseas jobs applicants.

Another suspect involved in the complaint, Richard Reyes Pineda, was arrested by the task force, the CIDG said.

Sosa said cases of illegal recruitment and swindling are being prepared against the suspects.

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