TWO people are facing criminal charges in court for allegedly duping about 13 applicants into non-existing jobs in Hong Kong.
Prosecutor Rodulph Joseph Val Carillo found evidence to charge Clara Baluran and Junjun Baluran with illegal recruitment in large scale before the Regional Trial Court.
They allegedly conspired with another job recruiter, Diego Balingtong, Jr., who was also charged with illegally recruiting production workers for Hong Kong without authority from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
It was not clear whether Clara and Junjun, of Barangay Bulacao-Pardo, Cebu City, are relatives. Large-scale illegal recruitment is a non-bailable offense. The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Freshlen Talinting, of Hill View Villages, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City, and 12 other applicants who accused Balintong, Clara and Junjun of illegal recruitment before the City Prosecutor’s Office.
The complainants alleged that despite having paid about P91,650 for processing fees, the respondents failed to deploy them to Hong Kong.
Replying to the charges, Clara and Junjun argued that they were also victims of Balintong.
When they first met the complainants, Clara and Junjun said that Balintong had already recruited them. Clara argued that she never gave an assurance to the applicants. Prosecutor Anna Lou Fernandez-Cavada, who first handled the case, dismissed the complaint against Clara and Junjun for lack of “any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring them to work in Hong Kong nor were they in conspiracy with Balintong in the latter’s recruitment.”
After reviewing the resolution, Prosecutor Carillo reversed Cavada’s resolution and indicted the respondents for illegal recruitment in large scale.