Two illegal recruiters jailed for life

A regional court in Northern Philippines has sentenced to life imprisonment two illegal recruiters who demanded hefty sums from 41 applicants by promising them non-existent jobs in Canada and South Korea, a government agency reported.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said the Baguio City regional court in the Northern Luzon highlands imposed the life sentence on Rodolfo Domingo Junior and Roliza Batag after they were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for illegal recruitment.
The POEA said their conviction arose from the charges filed by at least 41 complainants who said that Domingo and Batag demanded from them various amounts ranging from $700 to $4,500 each for jobs such as butchers and factory workers in Canada as well as electronic technicians in South Korea.
In a separate but related development, the POEA said a regional court in Legazpi City, Albay province in the Bicol Region convicted and sentenced to a maximum eight years imprisonment the owner of an employment agency for failing to reimburse the expenses incurred by an applicant who was promised a job as a housekeeper in the US.
In addition, the court also sentenced Lucille Manrique David to a separate and maximum 12 years in jail for estafa and ordered her to pay the complainant $2,500 in damages, according to the POEA.
The POEA pointed out the two court decisions represented another major victory in the government campaign against human traffickers who continued to victimise Filipinos applying to work abroad.