‘Illegal recruiter’ from leyte charged

THE Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor indicted a woman from Tacloban, Leyte who allegedly duped four job applicants in Cebu into bogus employment abroad.

Prosecutor Rogelio del Prado found evidence to charge Rosel Basconcillo with illegal recruitment in large scale before the Regional Trial Court.

“Evidence offered by the complainants would support their claim that they paid the amount representing their placement fee and the failure of the respondent to deliver her obligation to find them employment in Dubai,” read del Prado’s resolution.

Illegal recruitment in large scale is a non-bailable offense.

The case stemmed from the complaints filed by Sherwin Destacamento, Michael Neir Cabansag, Norberto Villamonte and Edgardo Hermeja, who accused Basconcillo of illegal recruitment before the city prosecutor’s office.

Villamonte and Hermeja are from Cebu City. Destacamento and Cabansaga hail from Talisay City and Cagayan de Oro City, respectively.

In their complaint-affidavit, the applicants said Basconcillo enticed them to work in Dubai since she has a connection with a recruitment agency abroad.

The accused later asked each applicant to pay P20,000 as payment for the processing fee. Since they badly needed employment abroad, the applicants coughed up a total of P80,000 from their hard-earned money.

After receiving the payment, Basconcillo reportedly avoided the applicants. She was only forced to communicate with them when the applicants threatened to report her to the police.

Basconcillo even arranged the trip of the applicants to Manila for their supposed medical examinations.

The applicants later discovered that Basconcillo was not authorized to recruit or operate a recruitment agency.

“After evaluating the allegations in the complaint, the undersigned prosecutor is of the strong belief that illegal recruitment in a large scale was committed by the respondent,” said del Prado.