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| Mabatid and Gamallo are both running for public office in the upcoming Philippine elections |
A Cebu-based businesswoman seeking to reclaim a seat as Cebu City councilor has lost her bid to get the Department of Justice reconsider its decision to charge her and five of her alleged accomplices with multiple counts of syndicated illegal recruitment and estafa.
In a decision promulgated last May 5, the DOJ denied
a motion for reconsideration filed by respondent Prisca Nina Mabatid, who is
running for a seat as councilor in Cebu City; along with her partner, Russ Mark
Gamallo, who is seeking his first public post as mayor of Samboan, Cebu.
Both Mabatid and Gamallo are also subject of fraud complaints by around 20 overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong who claim the two had tricked them into paying Php132,000 each in February 2023 on the promise that they could enter Canada on a work-study program that did not exist.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The two were joined in the DOJ motion by their
co-accused Clark
M. Jueco, Vincent Adam Hechanova, Clint Victor A. Caingles and Noverna “Bernie”
S. Uy.
All six were named respondents in the complaints filed by 11 Filipino jobseekers from across the Philippines, who claimed to have paid at least Php100,000 each, after being promised student visas that would allow them to work in Canada.
The student visas, offered through the
companies PinoyCare Visa Center (PCVC) and Opportunities Abroad Visa Processing
Services, never materialised
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| One of the advertisements posted online by Opportunities Abroad |
Reacting to DOJ's decision to reject the motion for reconsideration, United Filipinos - Migrante Hong Kong posted a statement online calling for the immediate issuance of a warrant of arrest against Mabatid and her co-accused.
The group mentioned in particular the fraud complaints filed against Mabatid and Gamallo by the OFWs in Hong Kong who were "misleadingly promised jobs in Canada using student visas during a recruitment activity on February 19, 2023."
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
"It has been two years since the victims from Hong Kong and the Philippines and other countries filed cases against Mabatid and her co-perpetrators. This issue has gained significant attention and even prompted a Senate hearing. However, the case has progressed at a sluggish pace," said Unifil-Migrante.
The group calked on the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to act on the case immediately.
"We demand that Nina Mabatid and (her) co-perpetrators be held accountable and face imprisonment for their crimes immediately," said the statement.
Basahin ang detalye!
(Unifil-Migrante’s post is here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16GKJAiLep/?mibextid=wwXIfr)
Acting on complaints filed by the Department of Migrant Workers on behalf of the 11 jobseekers, the DOJ on Nov. 11 last year indicted Mabatid for 4 counts of syndicated illegal recruitment and 4 counts of
estafa, while Gamallo was indicted for 7 counts of each offence.
Hechanova was charged
with 7 counts of illegal recruitment, 1 count of simple illegal recruitment,
and 8 counts of estafa, while Caingles faces 8 counts of syndicated illegal recruitment,
2 counts of simple illegal recruitment and 10 counts of estafa.
Uy was charged with 8
counts of syndicated illegal
recruitment, 1 for simple illegal recruitment, plus 9 counts of estafa; while Jueco who admitted signing the MOAs
that the complainants were made to sign, faces 8 counts each of syndicated
illegal recruitment and estafa.
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| Migrante Intl has helped the complainants pursue claims against Mabatid and company |
“It’s
been almost a year since the PCVC victims filed a case of large-scale illegal recruitment
against Mabatid, et. al with the Department of Justice,” said Vicky Casia,
coordinator of the Migrante’s international rights and welfare assistance program.
“We
welcome the DOJ decision because for so long, Mabatid has evaded accountability
for her action. There is still hope that the victims will finally get justice,
and that is when Mabatid is finally arrested and prosecuted.”
The
DOJ resolution charged the six of using PCVC and Opportunities
Abroad, which are not licensed with the Department of Migrant Workers, of
offering jobs to the applicants, in the guise of student visas.
Mabatid
and her co-respondents sought through a motion dated Dec 2, 2024 to get the
resolution revoked on the ground that it was not supported by “prima facie
evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction”.
They
reiterated that Opportunities Abroad and Pinoy Care Visa Center, another
company used to enlist the applicants, were not in the business of recruiting
Filipinos for work abroad.
They
argued that as visa assistance companies, they merely helped applicants with
visa processing and related processes, and did not directly offer employment or
recruitment services. There was no offer of employment as the complainants had applied
for student visas.
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| The DOJ reiterated in the resolution that there is prima facie evidence against the accused |
But in denying the motion for reconsideration, the DOJ through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Amanda Felipe, said that no new matter was raised by the respondents “that would support a different outcome of the preliminary investigation of the above-entitled complaint.”
When
the respondents offered their services to deploy the applicants to Canada
through its study visa program, “they made it appear that they will also
provide them with work upon arrival in Canada to help them pay for tuition fees
and the cost of living there,” said the resolution.
“The
promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for profit or not, when
undertaken by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority, is considered illegal
recruitment.”
Large-scale
illegal recruitment is a non-bailable offence punished with life imprisonment
under Sec 6 of RA 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of
1995, as amended by R.A. No 110022.
Estafa
under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code is punishable with imprisonment
ranging from a few months to several years, depending on the gravity of the
offence and the amount involved.
The
resolution was recommended for approval by Senior State Prosecutor Herbert
Calvin B. Abugan and approved by Prosecutor General Richard Anthony D.
Fadullon.
