NBI nabs ‘illegal recruiter’

CEBU, Philippines - An entrapment by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-7 Tuesday netted an alleged illegal recruiter and her staff inside their office in Sangi, Minglanilla, Cebu.

NBI-7 Director Antonio Pagatpat said the operation stemmed from numerous complaints they received against Kirby Gonzales Racaza-Silva of Intertech 888.

Complainants Jennifer Brioso, Michelle Enguio, Ciriaco Asumbrado and Gerald Ian Alcover said Silva recruited them to work abroad even if she has no authority from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).

Pagatpat said NBI agents led by Florante Gaoiran arrested Silva and her workers around 4 p.m. in units 2 and 3 of the second floor of Gee-Ann Arcade in Sangi, Minglanilla.

Intertech 888 is allegedly a recruiting office disguised as a call center.

Pagatpat said Silva recruited the complainants for employment as production workers in Australia with salaries ranging from Aus$5,000 to Aus$6,000 per month, with free board and lodging for the first year of a four-year contract.

Silva also promised to shoulder the plane tickets to Australia in exchange for each paying P20,000 in assessment fee.

The complainants said they paid P10,000 as downpayment and were guaranteed a job abroad.

However, upon verification with the POEA, they learned that Silva was not authorized to recruit or deploy workers abroad.

Last Tuesday, the NBI team and the complainants first went to Upper Tulay, Minglanilla around 3:30 p.m. but learned that Intertech 888 already transferred to Sangi.

They proceeded to Gee-Ann Arcade and the complainants proceeded to meet Silva on the pretext of settling the balance of the P20,000 fee.

The agents arrested Silva and two others after receiving the pre-arranged signal that the marked money was already given.

Authorities recovered the marked money from Intertech 888 operations manager Jennylyn Paz, whom they handcuffed along with Silva.

The agents also said they witnessed Belladona Librea giving an orientation to new applicants so they also arrested her.

Librea was caught in an adjacent room she tried fleeing into.

The room, the NBI agents discovered, was the call center the complainants referred to as front of Silva’s recruitment business.

The 10 people in the room were “in front of their respective computers doing their chores in scouting for companies in Australia (that) are in need of Filipino workers”./RHM (FREEMAN)