The SUN HK : Amount lost in student visa ‘scam’ rises to P1.75M as 2 more complaints recorded

Mabatid's Facebook post promising a Canadian visa in 3 months

Two more overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong have filed complaints with the Philippine Consulate about the alleged deceit committed against them by a group of tourists and a fellow OFW which made them pay $18,731 each for fake student visas to Canada.

The new complaints brought the total amount being claimed against former Cebu City Councillor Prisca Nina Mabatid, her partner Russ Mark Gamallo, OFW and blogger Bryan Apostol Calagui and other unknown people linked to the alleged scam to almost P1.75 million.

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Another applicant from La Union is said to be still considering filing her own complaint, as she also paid $18,731 to Mabatid’s group, but never got close to getting the assistance promised her in securing a student visa to Canada.

If she does step forward, she will be the 15^th OFW to pursue a claim against the alleged fraudster, with the amount involved nearing HK$261,000 or about P1.9 million at current exchange rate.

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The first 12 complainants managed to submit their sworn affidavits to lawyers from the Department of Migrant Workers who came to Hong Kong last weekend to personally interview them, and gather their evidence, which included video recordings of the alleged illegal recruitment.

There could be more, as no less than 20 Filipinos were seen queuing up to pay the “promotional” processing fee announced by Mabatid in her recruitment at Sunbeam Theater in North Point on Feb. 19, 2023.

As with the previous complainants, the two OFWs who are friends, said they heard about the “orientation” seminar by the group called PinoyCare Visa Center/Opportunities Abroad Visa Processing Services from Calagui’s posts on his Facebook page.

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“I first learned of their recruitment activity from a Facebook post of Calagui in early to mid-February 2021, in which he said the PCVC/OAVPS led by Nina Mabatid and endorsed by popular figures in the Philippines would come to Hong Kong to conduct an orientation seminar about getting into Canada on a student visa,” said one of the complainants.

The two decided to attend the event together, and were so taken in by the promises made by Mabatid and her team that they rushed to borrow money from a financing company so they could take up the recruiters’ ‘promotional’ offer of a $18,000 fee if they paid in cash within three days.

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The following month, they remitted a further P5,000 (or about $731) to OAVPS’ bank account in the Philippines in accordance with the recruiters’ instruction, which was supposed to cover their “LCIC fee”.

Unlike the previous complainants who paid the fees at Sunbeam and at a park in Admiralty, the two went to Park Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 21, 2023 to pay $18,000 each to an unknown member of Mabatid’s group, who issued them a receipt in the name of OAVPS.

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Both complainants said they were enticed by the promise that it would only take three months to get their visas issued, that they could bring their immediately family members with them, and that they would be going to Canada not as students, but as participants in a “study and work program” which would allow them to work five days a week, and study for only two days.

Mabatid also assured them that they need not worry about the money for their food and accommodation, as the previous OAPVS applicants who are already in Canada would take them in.

To top it all, she promised to lend them P1million each at no interest, so they could prove their financial capacity to Canadian authorities.

Mabatid's staff counts the money paid for what applicants now call a 'scam'

But reality set in after they paid the money asked by the recruiters. First, they were made to sign an agreement stipulating that they could not ask for a refund if they fail to secure the student visa promised them. Then, they were sent a long list of requirements that they must fulfill before they could move to the next stage of the application.

Neither applicant managed to get to send any of the requirements as they were busy with their respective jobs in Hong Kong and most of the documents being sought could only be obtained from various institutions in the Philippines.

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Both tried to back out, but when they asked the OAVPS staff assigned to them if they could do so, they were reminded of the no-refund agreement.

One of the applicants asked her 28-year-old son to take her place as applicant, but he immediately said there was no way he could complete the requirements, and that he might even get mad getting them all sorted out.

She then passed on her place to a friend, who immediately said yes but has so far made no effort to kick-start the application.

Despite the setbacks and not getting any help from the recruiters, the two OFWs remained hopeful they could still pursue their dream of going to Canada.

But last June, they read the news about a number of complainants who had gone to the police in Hong Kong and the Consulate, to claim they have been scammed by Mabatid, Gamallo, Calagui and the other members of their group, and this made them re-think.

Mabatid and her staff (in black) confront complainants in North Point in June

One of them said that when the news first broke out, she received a surprise call from Mabatid, who inquired whether she intended to pursue her application. When the applicant asked about the allegations of fraud against her, Mabatid told her not to believe this, and should just continue completing the requirements.

That was the last time she heard from the Cebu-based businesswoman, who never replied even after she sent her numerous text messages to inquire about her application.

Both now say they realize they have been duped. They are asking for their money back but would also like the culprits punished, even as they struggle to repay the loan they took in haste, in hopes of finding a rosier future after Hong Kong.