THE Office of the Ombudsman on Monday upheld the filing of graft raps against a Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu local official with the Sandiganbayan for duping people applying for jobs abroad.
Charged was public employment service officer Grace Jamio for promoting a private firm, AB Tutorial and Languages Center (AB Tutorial), to prospective job applicants to Korea.
Included in the charge sheet were AB Tutorial representatives Buenaventura Igot and Arturo Aliazon.
The case arose from a complaint filed by 15 job applicants who were enticed by respondents to enrol in the Korean language program of AB Tutorial for a fee of P8,500.
According to the Ombudsman, Jamio gave the complainants the assurance that “there is an ongoing government-to-government program wherein factory workers will be deployed to Korea.”
Complainants, however, discovered AB Tutorial was not accredited with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority.
“Jamio’s blatant endorsement of AB Tutorial, despite the free courses being offered by the POEA and Tesda, is tainted with badges of partiality and malice,” the resolution read.
“The records of this case support the conclusion that respondents Jamio, Igot and Aliazon acted in concert to promote AB Tutorial during government-sponsored or assisted activities and coax prospective job applicants into enrolling in its Korean language program.”