NBI arrests illegal recruiter

An illegal recruiter, who defrauded several applicants for overseas work of hundreds of thousands of pesos, was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila last week.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring identified the suspect as Myrna Vasquez Bulanday, resident of No. 93 Catleya St., Pag-asa, Quezon City.

Charges for violation of RA 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act (Large-Scale Illegal Recruitment) and Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (Estafa) were filed against Bulanday before the Department of Justice.

Bulanday is currently detained at the NBI jail.

The NBI’s Anti-Graft Division, headed by Lawyer Alan Contado, said that sometime in April, Bulanday promised Amalia Aldonza and five others immediate employment in Canada. Bulanday assured them of jobs such as nannies, caregivers, cooks, and kitchen helpers with monthly pay ranging from C$900 to C$1,200.

Bulanday collected from the victims a total of P320,000 as fees. Despite repeated promises, the suspect failed to give the applicants jobs overseas.

The victims also learned from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that Bulanday is not licensed to recruit workers for overseas employment. This prompted them to demand the return of their payment from Bulanday. However, the suspect failed to return the money and even refused to.

On Sept. 16, they filed a formal complaint before the NBI. As the suspect continued to demand from the complainants P10,000 as additional payment, an entrapment was made.

Six days after, AGD operatives went undercover in a known fastfood located at Padre Faura, Manila, the venue where the complainants and the suspect would meet. On the same day, Bulanday arrived and talked with the victims.

After receiving the marked money from the victims, AGD operatives approached and arrested Bulanday.

Bulanday was brought to the NBI where she was booked, photographed and fingerprinted.