The Department of Justice has been asked to prosecute three individuals allegedly involved in illegal recruitment.
In a complaint filed with the DOJ, complainants Genie Gutang Albelda and Sittikausar Ismail Muhali accused employees of the JIMC International Agency, namely, Flor Bongcawel, Lorena Francisco, and Joseline Banoza of illegal recruitment.
The complainants—Genie Gutang Albelda and Sittikausar Ismail Muhali, accused the three of illegal recruitment in violation of Section 6(b) and (k) of Republic Act (RA) 8042 or Migrant Workers Act of 1995, as amended by RA 9208; and for trafficking in persons in violation of Section 4(a) and 5(i) of RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.
The complainants were among 36 persons rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation from JIMC’s four-storey accommodation building in Caloocan City last Nov. 21.
The complainants said that they were recruited by JIMC for work abroad and were kept at the accommodation building while their papers were being processed.
But they complained that they were not allowed to leave and also had their mobile phones and travel documents confiscated.
“The gate of the building is likewise always padlocked without due regard in case of emergency,” read the complaint of Albelda who hails from Zamboanga City.