2 charged for estafa

Police formally charged the owner and the office staff of the Australia New Zealand International for large-scale estafa after the promised refund of their fees was not realized yesterday.

Around 30 people who were planning to work abroad trooped to the CIDG-7 office last Saturday after they apprehended Anabelle Diez and her office staff Mary Barimbao after the two failed to let them take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) held in an uptown hotel that day.

The group was composed of professional including engineers, doctors and nurses.

The complainants said the two collected P8,640 from each of them for the IELTS and even confirmed to them that they will be taking the said examinations that Saturday. But around 3 a.m., some of the applicants or candidates received a message from Diez that the examination was postponed.

Some of them went to the examination area but later learned they could not take the exam and Diez could give them no reason why.

The candidates also notice that some of members of their batch were allowed to take the exam by the International Development Program, the one giving the IELTS.

Angered by the fact that they knew they should have been with the other examinees, the group decided to confront the two.

When no reasonable explanation was given to them, they immediately arrested the two and called for the CIDG-7 for assistance.

ANZ International is an accredited agency of the IDP to facilitate the taking of IELTS examination for professionals who wanted to work abroad.  Diez clarified earlier reports and said their agency does not engage in job placements for workers abroad and merely facilitate IELTS.

Originally, only 32 filed their complaints but yesterday three more came to the CIDG office and filed charges for the same offense.

The complainants claimed the delay caused by the failure of ANZ International to have them take the examination will affect their plans to travel abroad to report to their respective employers.

Diez said they will soon call for a press conference with the media to shed light on the incident.

The IELTS is a system recognized and required for workers who wanted to work abroad especially in New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, the UK and other parts of Europe where English is commonly used.  — Edwin Ian Melecio/BRP