By Daisy CL Mandap
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| The Consulate's warning against people offering fake jobs in HK |
Another victim of what
appears to be a massive recruitment for fake jobs in Hong Kong run by at least
four Filipinas based in three different places has come out to complain, after the
Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong published an advisory warning against the
illicit operation.
Gina Cabactulan said
she was duped into sending Php45,000 (HK$7,000) on Apr 11 this year to Honey
Mae Rocacurva, daughter of one of the alleged recruiters, Jennifer Rocacurva,
who is based in Singapore, and uses the alias Ping or Azu Gonzales on Facebook.
Rocacurva is named by
about 60 victims of the apparent recruitment scam as among three Filipinas who actively
promoted the fake jobs of gardener and domestic worker in Hong Kong through
Facebook, which has netted the syndicate an estimated Php3million.
The victims who paid
anywhere between Php35,000 and Php150,000 to the recruiters, have so far tallied
about Php2million in illicit “processing fee” that was collected from them by
the scammers. Many others are reportedly still clinging to the group’s promise
that they could be deployed in Hong Kong, so have not demanded a refund.
Apart from Rocacurva,
two other Filipinas have been identified by the victims as having recruited
them for the fake jobs. One is Ruby Ariz Bote, a domestic helper based in Hong Kong
who uses the alias Sirhceib Sajor Zirnirem among others, on Facebook; and the
other is Christine Joy Smith, who claims to be a former seafarer based in
Britain.
Some of the applicants
said they were told to pay the processing fee either through bank deposit or
the Palawan remittance agency either to Bote’s daughter, Kimberly; or as in this
case, Rocacurva’s daughter, Honey Mae, in the Philippines.
The bulk of the illicit
fees was, however, sent to Marilyn Pascua Gregory, another Filipina based in
Hong Kong, either through Western Union, or her Hang Seng bank account. This is
evidenced by numerous remittance slips and bank deposit slips held by the victims.
The recruiters
appeared to have used all means to lure their victims to apply for the
non-existent jobs, including befriending them, or using their long-time
relationship to assure them of their good faith.
Among the victims
were their longtime friends, either in Hong Kong or Singapore, or neighbors in
their hometown in Mindanao.
In Cabactulan’s case,
she said she knew Rocacurva personally as they are both working as domestic helpers
in Singapore.
“Nagsabi siya (Rocacurva) sa akin na may hiring sila for male gardener
sa Hong Kong, at ang sabi ay direct hire pero idadaan sa agency. Maayos po ang
usapan namin hanggang malaman ko na scam pala ito,” Cabactulan said.
(She told me they are
hiring male gardeners in Hong Kong, and said it is a direct hire coursed
through an agency. Our negotiation went well until I learned that it was a
scam).
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| Bank transfer notice clearly shows the money transferred to Rocacurva's daughter |
The complainant said
she decided to get her husband Sherwin, who is in the Philippines, to apply for
the gardener post. To reserve his slot, Rocacurva reportedly gave instructions
for the Php45,000 processing fee to be paid
to her daughter’s DBS bank account in the Philippines.
Cabactulan said she
started having doubts after Rocacurva kept changing the name of the agency that
was supposed to process the paperwork for the Hong Kong jobs. At first, she
gave the name of Lotus agency, then it became Angelic, before it finally became
Medlink.
The recruiter
reportedly promised that training will be given on May 12, but then said it did
not push through because of the pandemic. She then said the training would be
held on May 22. When the day arrived, Rocacurva changed her tune again, saying
training will no longer be given but they would just issue a certificate from the
government training agency, Tesda.
“Doon na ako nagduda kasi sa alam ko hindi pwedeng magbigay ang Tesda ng
certificate kung walang training at assessment kaya July last week nag decide
kaming mag backout. Wala din kasi ni isang papeles na naipakita,”
Cabactulan said.
(That was when I
started having doubts because I knew Tesda would not give a certificate without
prior training or assessment, so in the last week of July we decided to back
out. They also failed to show us any documentation).
That was when Rocacurva
shifted to the bullying and shaming mode, calling the applicant names, and belittling her threat to seek help
from the authorities if their money was not refunded.
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| Rocacurva's photo as shared by applicants |
After she was blocked
by Rocacurva on messenger, Cabactulan sought help from another chat group the
recruiters have named as their “Hongkong office”. While those who reply to people
clamoring for refund in this chat group were less abusive, they nevertheless
kept up the charade.
“Regarding about your
refundables of your Processing Pay, We can’t do the processing this time
because there’s no Deployment and also because we can process the previous
backout applicant first than you. So, please wait for your turn, okey. Thank
you,” said the reply to Cabactulan’s query.
Cabactulan is just
one of dozens who have fallen prey to the heartless group. There is Angela Rojas, whose neighbor, Bote, convinced her into parting with her life savings of
Php135,000; and Cris Vargas, Bote’s Hong Kong friend, who was tricked into paying
Php150,000.
The others who are in
the Philippines are in a worse state, with one couple being forced to mortgage
their home to pay for the illicit fees, and another giving up a decent-paying
job abroad, hoping she could move to Hong Kong with her husband and earn more.
Clearly, only the
long arm of the wall would stop illegal recruiters from sucking the blood dry from
Filipinos desperate to provide a better future for their families, especially amid
one of the worst scourges of our time.
