Senate probe sought on illegal recruitment for fake jobs in Italy
By Dhel Nazario
Senator Raffy Tulfo has filed a resolution directing the appropriate Senate Committee to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the alleged massive illegal recruitment schemes perpetrated in Italy.
According to Tulfo, the fraudulent multi-million recruitment schemes are targeting Filipinos who plan to work in Italy.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 816 following reports that hundreds of victims were charged exorbitant placement and consultancy fees for jobs that turned out to be non-existent.
Reportedly, the immigration consultancy firm victimizing aspiring OFWs is identified as Alpha Assistenza SRL headed by Filipino co-CEOs Krizelle Respicio and Frederick Dutaro.
Tulfo said that according to the OFW victims, they were lured into believing that they will get jobs in Italy after paying Alpha Assistenza at least 2,500 euros or P120,000, while some of them admitted to paying a total of 5,780 euros or P347,140.
The senator said that Alpha Assistenza SRL had no legal personality whatsoever to process the work visa applications of Filipinos seeking jobs in Italy.
He also noted that Alpha Assistenza’s scheme allegedly involved the use of bogus work permits (nulla osta) which the OFWs only discovered as fake when these were presented at the visa processing center.
A total of 68 individuals have already filed formal complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila while the Philippine embassy in Italy has alerted the Public Prosecutors Office in Rome, the SUI, the Questura, and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the alleged large-scale fraud.
Tulfo likewise underscored that some allegations of victims about supposed “non-action” by the Philippine consulate in Milan should also be investigated.
In filing SR No. 816, Tulfo stressed the need to “reviewing existing laws and policies on illegal recruitment and adopting other legislative measures to curb the proliferation of such vicious acts.”