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| NBI agents shut down the Faithful Promise church on orders from DMW |
The Department of Migrant Workers ordered the closure of a church in Rizal province on Apr 28, after verifying that it was being used for the illegal recruitment of workers for jobs in Japan, Korea, and Papua New Guinea.
Operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation
led the entrapment operation at the church of the Faithful Promise Foundation
Philippines at
Santo Niño Compound, Sitio Paenaan, Baras, Rizal.
The church is also known as Faithful Promise of
Jesus Christ the Greatest Master Phil., Inc and Faithful Promise Church in the
Philippines.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
DMW Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia said Pastora
Esclarmonde Estrada Basalio was arrested during the entrapment which
followed a series of surveillance operations.
The recruiter who was not a licensed agent, allegedly
charged victims, mostly her own parishioners, Php50,000 each for visa processing
and other fees.
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| Pastora Basalio preyed on her own parishioners, according to DMW and NBI |
The recruiter promised overseas jobs such as factory workers, tea pickers, clerks, accountants, mechanical engineers and construction workers, with salaries ranging from Php36,000 to Php120,000.
The victims were issued tourist visas under the
guise of missionary work, and were instructed to tell Immigration they were
missionaries.
But the ploy didn’t always work as some of the
jobseekers were offloaded, while those who managed to reach their destinations were
disheartened to find out that no jobs awaited them. The rest were still awaiting
deployment.
Neither the DMW or the NBI could immediately give
the number of people who had been duped in the illegal operation.
Olalia said, “Ang una po nilang nabiktima ay mga kapuwa
nila parishioners, yong mga miyembro mismo ang nagsumbong, at siyempre
vinalidate natin. Meron mga na-offload, dahil may mga nagrereklamo at
kasalukuyan din sinisingil kahit walang authority, based on the confirmation
from the complainants.
(The first victims were their co-parishioners, their own members had complained against them, and of course we validated these. Some were offloaded so they complained, while others were are being charged fees even if they don’t have a license).
He added, “Kung aalis sila na hindi dokumentado, hindi
tamang dokumentasyon, buhay ang kapalit po non kapag nagkamali. Yon po ang
ating isinaalang-alang—pamilya at buhay ng OFW.”
(If they leave without documentation or their documents are not in order, their lives could be in danger. That’s what we’re after, to protect their families and the OFWs’ lives)
Cavite NBI Chief Eric Duque said they received information that very minute that there were victims who managed to get to their intended destination, only to find out that there were no jobs waiting for them there.
Assistant Secretary Jerome Alcantara added that most of the victims were bound for Japan for construction work or low-level jobs.
The closure operation was carried out by the DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) in coordination with the NBI.
Those who have been victimized by the religious group are encouraged to report their cases to the MWPB through the official hotline +63 2 8721-0619, email mwpb@dmw.gov.ph, or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip) for assistance in filing complaints.
