Trinidad denies that wife, brod swindled job applicants

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad yesterday denied allegations that his wife and brother are operating a recruitment agency in Mandaluyong City that already duped several applicants for jobs abroad.

Trinidad pointed to his political rivals as the ones who made up a story about a non-existent recruitment agency reportedly managed by his wife Nelfa and brother Sonny.

“There is no such recruitment agency in Mandaluyong. This is politically motivated, with my opponents being behind all of this,” he said.

Trinidad noted that there is already a certification from Edsa Shangri-La resident manager Vanessa Ledesma Suatengco, who said they do “not have a lessee or tenant under the company name of Gonzales, Trinidad and Delfin Recruitment Agency.”

Earlier, Southern Police District policemen tried to arrest City Administrator Ernestina Carbajal after a Marawi City court issued an arrest order stemming from a case of large-scale illegal recruitment filed by her alleged victims. Carbajal and Trinidad’s wife and brother were the respondents in the case.

Carbajal argued that they were unaware of the charges against them and were served a subpoena on July 30 and Sept. 6, 2007 by the prosecution at the wrong address.

Marawi Regional Trial Court Branch 8 Judge Amer Ibrahim then recalled the arrest warrant issued against Carbajal after finding merit in the respondents’ motion.

He has approved the motion filed by Carbajal to first conduct a preliminary investigation of the case.

Trinidad claimed “there is a group out to facilitate political vengeance against us. They are also earning big amounts of money out of this modus operandi.”

He identified one Joseph Montesclaro, a losing candidate in the last elections and an ally of his former supporter Antonia Cuneta, as responsible for filing the case.  – Rhodina Villanueva