Binay welcomes charges vs 3 suspected illegal recruiters

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay welcomed yesterday the filing of charges against three women accused of promising jobs in Kuwait to would-be overseas workers.

“We are now seeing the results of the new guidelines and policies directing all prosecutors to prioritize and fast track the resolution and trial of trafficking in persons (TIP) cases,” he said.

 “The Supreme Court has also directed all courts to prioritize and expedite the trial of TIP cases, so I am certain that we can definitely see the results of our aggressive campaign against human traffickers and illegal recruiters,” added Binay, chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

Binay, who also chairs the Presidential Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment, lauded the Department of Justice for filing syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment cases against Anna Marie Grueta and Maribeth de la Cruz of Great World International Management, Inc. He said company president Vilma Zaparita, who remains at large, was also charged. No bail was recommended for the three suspects.

Grueta and De la Cruz were arrested by agents of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the National Bureau of Investigation in an entrapment operation last week after Cristine Robles, Jacquiline Valenzuela, Mary Princel Reyes and Rowena Antioquia filed complaints against them before the POEA.

According to the POEA, Great World recruited the complainants supposedly as domestic helpers in Kuwait for a salary of $400 a month. The firm demanded P12,000 from each of the applicants but the promised work did not materialize.

The complainants said Great World refused to release their travel documents and would only release it in exchange for money. The POEA checked and found it had cancelled the firm’s recruitment license last May.

Binay also cited the two agencies for arresting another suspected recruiter, Emma Gumpal, 44, in a separate operation. Gumpal will be charged with large-scale illegal recruitment for allegedly demanding P15,000 to P20,000 as processing and placement fees of Kristine Insigne, Jenevie Lapuhapo and Juvina Cartagena, who she promised jobs as office secretaries in Bahrain with a monthly salary of P25,000 each.