Illegal recruiter sued

CEBU - A woman from Lipata in Minglanilla town yesterday filed charges for estafa and alleged illegal recruitment at the Office of the City Prosecutor against a man who claimed to be a representative of a recruitment agency based in Manila and promised her a teaching job in the United States.

Marjorie Rosales filed the said charges against Isidro Rodriguez who reportedly claimed to be working for Great Provider Services Exporters, Inc., a Manila-based recruitment agency. Rodriguez allegedly promised her a teaching stint in the US since August of last year.

Rosales also filed a complaint against Great Provider Services Exporters for its failure to send her abroad.

She said that she knew Rodriguez for around 19 months already through a common friend. Rodriguez reportedly promised the family of Rosales in the United States that Marjorie will be there within six months, and charged them US$10,000 for the processing.

A day after the concerned parties agreed, a sister of Rosales who is based in the US signed a check amounting to US$5,000 as partial payment, with Rodriguez as payee.

Rosales said she then submitted all the required documents on time as what were needed for the processing.

She claimed she was also required by the agency to enroll in an online class in the University of Phoenix in Arizona wherein she paid US$950. It was pointed out to her that the online course was required for her to get a work license, but until now no license was ever processed.

Rosales also said that Rodriguez kept on assuring her she could leave for the US. But when the waiting time took a year already, she said she decided to withdraw all the money her family paid to Rodriguez so she could “try her luck as a tourist in the US”.

Instead, she was told to sign a blank affidavit of undertaking before she could have her money back.

In a certification issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, it was learned that Rodriguez is not a licensed recruiter.  — Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)