DOJ removes 12 Samsung executives from BI watch list

MANILA, Philippines –  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has lifted the watch list order it issued against 12 officers of Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. (SEPCO) in connection with a complaint for illegal recruitment.

In Order No. 475 released Wednesday, the DOJ recalled the order it issued last Dec. 6 that placed the SEPCO officers on the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration.

The 12 SEPCO officers are Louie Liston, Angela Salvallon, Gerard Duremdes, Glenn Glinoga, lawyer Gabriel Matriano, Benjamin Jimenez, Sherilyn Tan, Mary Ann Felipe, Ricky de Guzman, Noel Dajao, Elaine Matito, and Jerick Paloma.

The DOJ made the move after finding in the preliminary review that the complaint of syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment involving economic sabotage filed against them by Temps and Staffers Inc. (TSI), a Filipino manpower agency based in Quezon City, was “purely civil in nature.”

As such, the complaint does not fall under Department Circular No. 41, which states that such watch list orders shall be issued only in criminal cases.

Earlier, the DOJ also lifted the hold departure order against SEPCO’s two Korean executives, Kyung Chull Park, Boem Hee Kee, president and chief financial officer, respectively.

“We welcome the DOJ’s decision and we are glad that our names have finally been removed from the list. We take this as a positive sign,” Kyung said in a statement.

Kyung gave assurance that their company “is committed to act as a responsible corporation in the Philippines (that) conducts its operations in accordance with international labor standards and maintains a rigorous compliance program.”

The TSI accused the SEPCO officers of unlawfully pirating some 700 of its employees deployed in Samsung dealers across the country.