23 OFWs file complaint vs. placement agency

CEBU - The 23 Cebuano Overseas Filipino Workers, who were detained for 32 days at the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, yesterday started their quest for justice against their recruiter by filing a complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation.

They were accompanied by Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna to the NBI office where they signed up the complaint sheet against Be Glad Worldwide Placement Agency.

The victims were referred to the NBI by the Department of Foreign Affairs where they first sought assistance immediately after they were deported from the Caribbean country.

NBI regional director Medardo De Lemos said they will conduct an investigation into the complaints. De Lemos said they will coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to determine whether or not the agency that sent them to Trinidad and Tobago was authorized to recruit.

According to De Lemos, even if the agency was authorized to recruit they will also find out whether the workers had proper documentation such as a contract of employment before they were sent abroad.

The workers told the NBI that they did not have a contract of employment before they left the country. They said they were just told by the agency that the contract will be given to them as soon as they arrived there.

But their passports indicated that when they left Cebu they are not allowed to work abroad.

Jacqueline Fortuna, who acted as leader of the group, earlier said that Be Glad Worldwide Placement Agency was accredited by the POEA.

Their first employer was reportedly responsible for their arrest after they accepted another job even if they had yet to complete their contract. The victims said that they were forced to find another employer because the one who originally hired them did not follow their contract.

The group was hired last June by South America-based Multitask General Maintenance Co. Limited through Be Glad Worldwide Placement Agency. They were supposed to work as construction workers at Bacolet, Scarborough on Trinidad and Tobago.

When the OFWs flew to Trinidad and Tobago in June, they did not have a working permit. They were told that the permits would be processed when they got there, with the employment contract covering one year.

The 23 OFWs were reunited with their families in Cebu last month. — Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)