Duped OFWs reveal modus operandi of illegal recruiters

Aspiring overseas Filipino worker Mary Gomez thought that she was setting herself up for work that would give her two children a better future. What she didn’t know was she was being recruited to work as a prostitute in the United Arab Emirates. Gomez told GMA News that a Filipino couple who introduced themselves as Paulita and Danny Platero of the recruitment firm ATD International Services, Inc. supposedly based in San Miguel, Bulacan, offered her work as an entertainer or waitress in Dubai last June. “Magtetext lang kami, sasabihin niya punta ka dito sa palengke, minsan sa bahay ng babae na narecruit niya (We would just communicate by text, they would then tell me where to meet them, sometimes at the market or sometimes at the house of another female recruit)," she said.

But she said she didn’t know that she and another female recruit were being pimped off to work as sex workers in Dubai. “Yung contact niya mismo sa Dubai ang nagsabi, tinanong kami kung handa kami sa trabaho na ‘yun na sex daw ang trabaho. Hindi ko kako alam na ganyan ang trabaho, iba ang pagkasabi sa amin (Their contact in Dubai was the one who asked us if we were prepared for that kind of work. I told them we weren’t told that we would be made to work as prostitutes)," said the worker. This, said Gomez, prompted her to immediately cut the deal. But she said the couple wouldn’t give her passport back unless she paid them P50,000. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), ATD is a legal and duly registered agency in “good standing." However, POEA records show that the fimr is located in Quezon City, not in Bulacan. Its license will expire on November 11, 2010. Moreover, lawyer Paciano Falejo, officer-in-charge of the POEA Anti-Illegal Recruitment Branch, was quick to add that the Plateros were not listed among those who were legally connected with the ATD. “Ang ginagawa niya ay illegal recruitment. It is a violation ‘nung ating POEA rules and regulations na you (What they’re doing is illegal recruitment. It is a violation of POEA rules and regulations when you) are engaged in recruiting Filipino workers for work abroad that are immoral or harmful," said Falejo. Just helping Danny Platero said they were just trying to help people who want to go abroad. “Yung misis ko nagrerecruit ng mga lumalapit sa kanya para makatulong (My wife recruits only those who ask for her help)," he told GMA News. He added that they have been planning to return the passports of the two. The POEA said that they will keep the couple under surveillance and that they will help Gomez file charges against the recruiters concerned. The scam An OFW in Dubai, who requested anonymity, told GMANews.TV that Gomez was lucky to not have suffered what other recruits have gone through. “Pimps here in Dubai are dealing with their recruiters in the Philippines to get good ladies to sell them here as prostitutes," she said. She said once a Filipina worker gets interested, the recruiter will ask for pictures to be sent to the pimps for selection. After the selection, they will require the women to submit their credentials and passports together with P30,000 to P50,000 supposedly in exchange for visa processing. “The recruiter will send a scanned copy of the passport to the pimp here in Dubai for visa processing. The pimp will go the travel agency here to secure ladies a visa. Take note, the type of visa is ‘tourist’ and the professions reflected are the following: businesswoman, waitress, and sales representative," said the OFW. Upon issuance of the visas, the victims are given tickets to Dubai. Unfortunately, only a few Filipino workers have been prevented by authorities from entering UAE on visit visas. The OFW said that as soon as victims arrive at Dubai International Airport, their pimp handlers lock them up in apartments and take possession of their passports before revealing the true nature of their work. “The victims will be surprised (but) they are left with no other choice but to follow what the pimp wants," she said. For a victim to be set free, she has to pay their pimp handlers between 12,000 to 15,000 dirhams (almost P160,000 to P200,000) within two months. The standard rate for the sex trade is 300 dirhams (almost P4,000) for “short time" and 500 dirhams (more than P6,500) for overnight, according to the OFW. “These payments will not go directly to the victims but to the pimps. And the pimps will trick them (into thinking) that the guest or customer paid only half of the price. So the victims will double her effort for sex trade to pay her pimp before the two-month period," she said. The prostitute-victim’s ordeal does not end there. After two months, the pimp will again oblige the victims to pay for the food expenses, house, and the cost of exiting to Kish Island, Queshem, or Oman to renew their tourist visas. Upon payment of all their supposed debts, she said the victims will be freed. But the OFW said that such a practice does not end. “As time goes by those victims will turn themselves into pimps because the trading is good, money is easy and fast," she said. - GMANews.TV