Woman charged for illegal recruitment

CEBU, Philippines - For deploying clients abroad without an employer, a woman is facing charges for illegal recruitment in court.

 Prosecutor Gandhi Truya found probable cause against Ma. Ludivina Ceniza of Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City who is accused of estafa and for violation of Republic Act 8042 known as The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995.

 Ceniza chose not to undergo preliminary investigation to answer the complaint filed against her. She posted a P24,000-bail last Saturday.

 It was the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-7 that filed the complaints before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office after the victim, who asked not to be named, sought the agency’s help to entrap the accused.

 In the affidavit executed by the victim, who is a resident of Barangay Labangon, Cebu City, she said her friend informed her that an agency, the Worldwide Academy of Tourism and Hospitality where the accused was allegedly connected, was hiring beauticians for Singapore.

 The victim said that when she met the accused, the latter asked from her P40,000 as payment for her processing fee.

 She said the accused was able to deploy her to Singapore but when she arrived, no employer picked her up. She added she was referred to several employers but she could not find a job since she had no employment visa.

 The victim said she was “forced to do odd works such as doing the laundry, home cleaning, among others, without pay in exchange for free lodging and accommodation.”

 She said she left Singapore on March 9, 2011 after paying $200 as payment for accommodation.

 When she arrived in Cebu sometime in June 2011 she then confronted the accused but the latter told her that she would look for an employer in Qatar.

 It was November 2011 when the accused contacted the victim and told her that an employer in Qatar needed a house helper. The accused asked for P70,000 as processing fee.

 However, upon learning that other clients of the accused returned home without getting a job abroad, she then sought the help of the NBI.

 An entrapment operation was then conducted by the NBI on February 12, 2011 leading to the arrest of the accused after accepting P5,000 from the victim.

 Upon verification from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the accused was not licensed. — (FREEMAN)