CIDG files charges against Caloocan employment firm

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Northern Field Office filed last week charges of large scale illegal recruitment and child trafficking against a recruitment agency in Caloocan City. The firm still continues to operate.

"Their operations continue. I hope concerned government agencies would take cognizance of the matter for the victims here are mostly hapless job-seekers from the provinces," Chief Inspector Efren Dalumpines, CIDG-NFO deputy chief, said yesterday.

The CIDG-NFO filed with the Caloocan City prosecutor’s office illegal recruitment and child trafficking charges against Violeta Tello, owner of Violy’s Employment Manpower and General Services at 463 Building-G, Dagat-Dagatan Avenue corner C-3 Road, Caloocan City and four of her employees.

Superintendent Simon Fernan, CIDG-NFO chief, in coordination with the local Department of Social Welfare and Development, rescued last week 11 alleged victims of Violy’s recruitment agency.

Two of the victims were 17 years old, mostly from Davao and Agusan del Sur. They said that several of their co-workers are still suffering from the alleged abuses of the recruitment agency. Virgil Cariaga, 17, of Davao Oriental, said that the agency made him work for five months in a plastic factory in Valenzuela City without giving him any salary.

He said that the agency told him that his five-month salary was only good as payment for his P3,500 fair from Davao to Manila and for his food and lodging during his stay at the agency’s quarters while it was searching a job for him.

Archie Magusara, 32, said that the same thing happened to him. He said that after four months of working, the agency only gave him P60 a day or a total of P1,800 monthly salary as a factory worker.

He added that a P500 payment was allegedly charged from him by the agency everytime he transferred from one factory to another.

The victims added that they all suffered inhumane treatment from the hands of Violy’s employees during their stay at the agency’s quarters.

"Most of their recruits were uneducated so they can easily manipulate them," Dalumpines said. – Pete Laude