THE operations manager of Global Placement Provider Services (GPPS)-Bacolod Office, Joel Dableo, expressed disappointment over Bacolod City Councilor Sonya Verdeflor's press statement, saying the documents sent to her were falsified.
Dableo said what was sent privately should have been answered privately.
"If the good councilor has questions, she could have communicated to me privately or to any of our representatives, as we wait for the written report that has been long overdue since the last hearing on August 16," said Dableo.
He was referring to the GPPS documents which he sent to Verdeflor, chairperson of the city council's Committee on Labor & Management Relations & Overseas Workers.
Verdeflor's committee is presently conducting a public hearing in aid of legislation and also studying complaints filed by several Bacolodnons alleging that GPPS failed to deliver its promise to send the complainants to the United Kingdom, allegedly in exchange for the payment of approximately P100,000 each.
But GPPS denies the allegation.
"The fact that we are constantly communicating and did not close our office in Bacolod should already make everyone conclude that we have nothing to hide. I simply appeal to give us fair chance to reply every time there are questions," he explained.
"We will comply and we are waiting for the committee report," he added.
Dableo said since Verdeflor's statement is out in the public, he is bound to protect the legality and authenticity of documents privately submitted to the legislator.
"The responsibility of signature verification lies with the British Embassy. The visa letter has a special letter number which only the UK Embassy and the College know. We verified the status of their application by our own initiative through the tracking number accessible through UK Border Agency website. All results from the website were then given to councilor Verdeflor," Dableo stressed.
"It was stated that the applications of these complaining applicants are still being processed in the British Embassy. We evidently cannot fool around with the British Embassy and therefore how can we falsify documents submitted to Councilor Verdeflor? May I request her to verify as well? We can assist her together with the complainants. There are tracking numbers there with very recent dates," Dableo added.
Dableo said the signatories submitted to Verdeflor are authorized signatories of the sponsoring college in London but the authentication coming from its director, owner of the sponsor college of the five complainants himself, cannot be sent now because of the summer holidays and London schools are close.
The typographical errors and all signatory related questions could have been answered if Verdeflor contacted GPPS, he explained.
Dableo stressed there are other pertinent documents which he sent bearing the official registration of GPPS "LTD" or "GPPS London", which is legitimate recruitment agency operating for the entire country of England.
The Bacolod GPPS office is a visa assisting office to "connect" applicants to GPPS London upon entrance to England, he clarified.
"So what more can we do but to send a very strong message that we will not leave Bacolod. All of us grew up here and we will not allow our kasimanwa to be deprived of going to England. An illegal recruiter immediately escapes or is imprisoned. In our case, our office at St. Francis Building is open to everyone," Dableo also said.
Meanwhile, Dableo further explained, the documents privately sent to Verdeflor will prove the amount paid by the complainants and how much was shelled out by GPPS to help them out, adding that "our representatives during the last hearing were gentlemen who do not want to put anyone in a bad light. We hoped to be treated this way, too."
Verdeflor's committee will come out with its report possibly next week. She said the documents gathered and collated have reached almost a hundred pages and it will take ample time to finish a well-studied Committee Report.
The Committee Report will contain the result of the joint committee hearing held last August 16, 2010 by the Committees on Labor and Management and Overseas Workers and the Committee on Human Rights chaired by Councilor Archie Baribar, where all the concerned individuals were invited to shed light on the matter.
The complainants led by Maritess Manayon all came to the hearing. The representatives of the concerned government agencies and of GPPS were also in attendance.
The committees traced the business background of GPPS which covered matters such as its office location to its business permit and how these applicants were able to know and applied to the said placement services provider.
All concerned were given the chance to air their side, including the submission of pertinent documents which will support their claims and allegations and also the answers and explanations of the representatives of GPPS.
Verdeflor said all the testimonies of those who attended the hearing will be considered in the report, including the documents which came from Dableo.