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| DMW posted this blurred photo of Robejes |
Getting to your dream work destination abroad does not mean the path you took to get there was legal or safe.
This realization came a bit late for a group of Filipinos who claimed to have paid between Php100,000 to Php300,000 each to get to New Zealand last year, where they were promised jobs in different professions or industries.
Those who couldn’t pay the amount charged were referred to a lending company by Paragon Visa Consultancy, which recruited them for the supposed jobs, so they could immediately pay up, and leave the country
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
But on arrival in New Zealand, they were dismayed to learn that there was no job waiting for them, or the job they eventually got was not the one promised them by Paragon.
They later learned that the authorities in New Zealand raided the Auckland house of Julie Pearl Robejes, who was known to them as the one behind Paragon, on suspicion of engaging in recruitment activities without a license.
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| Do not transact with visa consultancies that offer jobs abroad |
Hearing this, some decided to just go back to the Philippines, while the others decided to stay on in New Zealand and take on temporary jobs.
Thirteen of them filed formal complaints of syndicated illegal recruitment and estafa againt Robejes with the Department of Migrant Workers, which pursued their cases with the court.
On Mar 23 this year the Regional Trial Court in Iloilo issued warrants of arrest against Robejes and two of her staff, but it wasn’t until the evening of Aug 13 that she was arrested by police in La Paz, Iloilo.
While in police custody, Robejes suffered persistent stomach ache that she had to be rushed to St Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City on Aug 16. She has since recovered.
At the moment she is at the Female Custodial Facility while awaiting the final disposition and turnover of her case to the court.
DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau is calling on others who might have been victimized by Robejes and her associates to reach out to them through https://www.facebook.com/dmwairtip so they can be given legal assistance.
Alternatively they can go directly to the DMW or to the nearest police station and file a complaint.
