However, the complainants
reserved their right to file individual complaints later on, as there were other
people they wanted investigated for alleged illegal work.
The police said
they would forward the case to the Immigration Department, which is in a better position to decide if prosecution is in order.
Among the people
the complainants pointed out as having taken part in the alleged illegal
activity is fellow domestic worker, Bryan Apostol Calagui, who promoted the two
seminars by PCVC-OA in his social media blogs, and even gave the welcome
remarks at both events.
All of the complainants
said they were enticed to attend the briefing in February because of Calagui’s
frequent plugging of the “orientation” in his blogs and social media posts. To their dismay,
they saw Calagui hastily leaving the venue after his speech on Sunday, so they
were not able to get the police to question him as well.
 |
Calagui hurriedly left after giving the welcome remarks during the Sunday briefing
|
However, Mabatid, on being questioned by the police, said that Calagui was the only one with a
HKID in her group.
The talks
between the two sides dragged on for about two hours as the complainants wanted
to go to the police station with Mabatid so they could file separate
complaints. But Mabatid instead offered to return their money on Tuesday, which was met with immediate resistance by the domestic workers who
are only able to go out on Sundays.
Her insistence
that they give her all their names, addresses in the Philippines, and the amount they were claiming, also
rattled some of the complainants, who claimed that Mabatid had repeatedly warned
them earlier that they would face legal consequences on their return home.
Both sides eventually
agreed to do it next Sunday, June 25, but the question of venue again sparked disagreement.
Mabatid wanted to meet them at the Conrad’s lobby, but the workers balked,
saying they wanted a more neutral place.
The problem was
settled after the two sides learned that Consul General Raly Tejada himself gave
permission for them to meet at the Consulate at 10am on June 25.
 |
| In the earlier recruitment, Calagui watched as applicants paid $18,7000 each in an Admiralty park |
Earlier, Mabatid’s
remarks that “Para naman kayong di Pinoy,
tumawag pa kayo ng pulis” or “Pera
lang naman yan, bayaran ko na lang” (It's like you're not fellow Filipinos, you even got the police involved" or "That's just money, I can just pay it all back") sparked resentment among the complainants.
One was so irked
she told the police, “Just arrest them, never mind if I don’t get my money
back.”
Most of the
complainants said they did ask for a refund earlier but were harshly told by
Mabatid’s staff that this could not be done.
They were
reminded that they signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) stating that they would not
file any case against Opportunities Abroad whatever the outcome of their
visa application, and that the processing fee collected from them was not
refundable.
This was reportedly
the same thing that Mabatid cited on Sunday when she warned the complainants
that she would file cases against them in the Philippines for reneging on their
undertaking under the MOA.
 |
| Sunbeam Theater in North Point was packed with applicants during the Feb 19 recruitment |
What the applicants didn’t
realize was that it would be a long, hard climb for them from that time on.
Despite being
assured by Mabatid that she would lend Php1 million to each of the about 500 people who
attended her first seminar to support their visa applications, her
staff told a worker that she should produce her own “alibi” or reason why she
had that much money in her account all of a sudden.
The worker said in
reply, “Di pwede mag alibi sir, kasi
ma-question kami ng IO (immigration officer) at after that ma-refuse ang
student visa namin.” (We should not attempt to give a wrong alibi because
the immigration officer might question us, and as a consequence reject our visa
application).
Another
applicant said he was thrown off by the long list of requirements he was meant
to comply with, when during the orientation when they were convinced to pay money
on the spot, Mabatid and her people kept assuring them that everything would be
taken care of.
One other
complainant said she had thought that they would have access to the Php1 million
“loan” that would be transferred to their accounts, but was shocked to learn
that the money will appear in their bank accounts for just a month once they
start their visa application.
Despite this,
they will be charged Php49,500 in “bank processing fees” for the month that the
money that they will never get to touch, is parked in their accounts. They will also have to pay an additional Php100,000 as downpayment for their tuition, or they cannot move to the next stage.
 |
| The fees shown did not include the full-year tuition which costs up to P800k |
Another applicant
who decided to direct her query to Calagui claimed to have been shocked when he told her
through chat that she needed to pay the Php100,000 first before the promised Php1
million “loan” would be transferred to her account through him.
Even if this tuition fee installment was included in the list of
payables shown them during the orientation, the claimants said it did not set off alarm bells as they were assured that getting a student’s visa to
Canada was a breeze, and that the Php1M "loan" to them would pay for future expenses.
After hearing
about the complaints Mabatid said there was a misunderstanding, and would tell
her staff to go back to the applicants and correct the misinformation.
In a video taken
during the February 19 seminar, Mabatid’s partner, lawyer Mark Russ Gamallo, could
be seen telling applicants that the tuition fee in the schools where
they would be applying with was between Php400,000 to Php800,000.
But he quickly
brushed aside the OFWs’ qualms, saying they should be able to pay this off with
the money they would make working on the side while studying fulltime, with
more to spare.
Gamallo later
told The SUN that the previous requirement that those on student visa in Canada
could work no longer than 20 hours per week was no longer applicable. He later
shared a Canada news report saying that the relaxed policy will last until the
end of 2023.
However, a
cursory check of the Canadian government’s website shows that the new rule, which took
effect on Nov 15, 2022 and will last until Dec 31, 2023, applies only those who
applied for a study permit (or extension) before Oct 7, 2022. After this date,
only those who applied for a study permit extension can qualify for the
privilege.
 |
| The promotional flyer for the Sunday event promised a wait of only 3 months |
This means that
even if the Hong Kong applicants manage to hurdle all the difficulties and secure
a student visa, they will still have to worry about where to get the money to
pay for their school fees, rent and food, not to mention what they normally
send to the Philippines to support family members.
Twenty hours of working each week will barely sustain them during their stay in the country.
There is also the
question of whether using money that is not theirs to support their visa
application amounts to misrepresentation, even fraud, and as rightfully
argued by one of the complainants, could land them in serious trouble.
Asked whether
PCVC-OA was licensed with the Philippines Overseas Employment Authority, both
Mabatid and Gamallo said that they need not get the accreditation as they were into
visa consultancy and not recruitment.
Mabatid even
flashed a signed certificate from the Department of Migrant Workers stating
that her company was free to advertise its services in all media outlets. She
said the one who issued the certificate was a DMW regional director.
However, this
appears contrary to a memorandum titled “Policy on Immigration Consultants”
(Memorandum Circular 10, series of 2003) which is posted on the DMW website.
It
states that: “Immigration
consultancy agencies and similar entities which are based locally, are required
to obtain a license in accordance with the guidelines as provided for in Part
II, Rule I, secs 1 and 2 and Rule 2, secs 1 to 5 of the 2002 POEA Rules and
Regulations, before they may engage in recruitment and placement activities,
regardless of the visa under which deployment shall be made eventually.”
 |
| OFWs lined up in the rain to listen to how they can gain entry as student in Canada |
The MC also
states that official receipts should be issued to applicants, who should be
charged only after they have obtained the EB3 visa.
This appears to
be a grey area in the law, however, as visa assistance centers for tourists and
other visa categories are able to freely operate in the Philippines. But the crucial difference is, if the student visa is promoted, as it was here, to gain backdoor
entry to working in a foreign place, then regulation should be imposed.
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