‘Illegal recruitment’ try aborted

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Alertness of security guards had led to the interception of an alleged illegal recruitment of seven girls who were supposed to leave at the city port, via a ship bound for Manila purportedly for domestic work in Dagupan City in Pangasinan.

Port Police division manager, Colonel Rufino Valenzuela said his blue guards noticed the presence of the girls, apparently minors, who were about to board the ship that was supposed to leave at 7 a.m. yesterday.

Valenzuela said Rodney Donasco, a security guard of Lockhead Global, approached the girls to make the initial verifications. The latter examined their tickets and then asked for their birth certificates, which they in turn could not present. This prompted the guard to ask for help from his immediate supervisors.

The girls had only with them certifications from a barangay, showing their status and age, but the port authorities doubted their real age thus they coordinated with the Department of Labor and Employment in the city and the Visayan Forum, through Dondee Señeris, for technical support.

Señeris, together with members of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking-Region 7, composed of Prosecutor Angelita Alcoran, Senior Police Officer 3 Jinky Alalong of the Womens and Children’s Desk, Inday Peralta of the City Social Welfare Office, and the port police immediately processed the papers of the intercepted girls.

Upon verification, four were allowed to travel but were told to undergo another verification as soon as they arrive at the North Harbor in Manila where other members of the Visayan Forum task force would be waiting.

The four were traveling on their own and that their contacts in Manila were also contacted by the Visayan Forum, confirming they were on a vacation trip.

Señeris said possible charges for violation of PD 442 otherwise known as the new Labor Code maybe filed against Teresita Dalaguit, who admitted that she assisted three of the seven to work for her former employer in Dagupan, identified as Ana Marie Merrera, but without the necessary permits or documents.

In an interview, Dalaguit admitted that her fault was that the other recruit was a minor. The intercepted recruits are now staying at Casa Esperanza while the alleged recruiter is temporarily detained at the Dumaguete City Police. (FREEMAN)