Raps filed vs Parker, Encarnado

The Department of Justice has filed before the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) criminal charges, for alleged violation of the labor code, against PBA player Robert Parker and Sta. Lucia team manager Manuel Encarnado.

State prosecutors Roberto Lao and Mark Jalandoni said the duo offered "no documentary proof" to show that they really applied for the work permits necessary for aliens to work in the country.

"What is clear, on the one hand, is that a permit, either special work permit (SPW) or provisional permit to work (PPW) must first be secured from the Bureau of Immigration to entitle a foreign national to play in the professional league of basketball, failing in which, it exposes the erring party to certain liabilities," they wrote in their seven-page resolution.

The DOJ prosecutors pointed out Parker and Encarnado didn't even apply for the "issuance of an alien employment permit from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)."

Nonetheless, the charges filed by Immigration commissioner Rufus Rodriguez against Alvarado Segova, Francisco Alejo and Rene Pardo, all of Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs, and Nate Payne, Ruben and Steve Solon of MBA's Socsargen Marlins, were dismissed for lack of evidence.

The DOJ likewise dropped the charges against Parker and Segovia with regard to the BI chief's allegation that they violated immigration laws when they entered the country. - D. Porcalla

"Respondents Exequiel Robles, Encarnado, Alejo, Pardo, Ruben and Steve Solon cannot be held accountable for the perceived unlawful entry of the subject foreigners. There was no proof submitted to show that respondent foreign nationals committed misrepresentation to gain access to the Philippines," the fiscals stressed.