Manila:
The Philippine government through its embassy in Washington said it is ready to provide assistance to hundreds of Filipino teachers who ended up as victims of trafficking in the US.
“Our teachers need not be afraid. We are here to help,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia, Jr. said on the plight of hundreds of Filipinos who were recruited for teaching jobs, only to end up without work when they got to the US.
Cuisia called on the trafficked Filipinos to step out of the shadows so that the Philippine government can assist them in seeking immigration relief and in going after those who had victimised them.
Most of the teachers had to borrow money so that they can pay the steep recruitment fees, which some accounts said could run from between $10,000 to $15,000 for each victim.
Cuisia said the victims had been enticed with promises of high-paying jobs in US state schools by a Filipino identified as Isidro Rodriguez.
Rodriguez recruited teachers from 2003 to 2007 through his company, the Renaissance Staffing Support Centre Inc.
According to Cuisia, the Embassy will also continue to provide consular assistance to the trafficked teachers, including the waiver of authentication fees and issuance of the necessary certification to support their request for immigration relief with the US Department of Homeland Security.
Labour Attaché Angel Borja said Rodriguez is on top of the watch list of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Bureau of Immigration.
He said 21 illegal recruitment cases have been filed against Rodriguez, while 41 recruitment violation cases have been filed against his company, in Manila, said Borja.
Lawyer Arnedo Valera, Executive Director of the nongovernment Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), has been providing legal assistance to many of the teachers.
“Since 2007, we have been engaged in a meaningful partnership with the Embassy in the investigation and filing of charges against Rodriguez as well as in other cases of human and labour trafficking perpetrated by other recruitment agencies and individuals,” said Valera.
Valera said Rodriguez’s victims could be as many as 1,000 and that while some of the teachers opted to return to the Philippines, took the chance by working illegally in the US.
Some of the teachers had no choice but to take menial jobs to allow them to provide for their families and at the same time pay the high-interest loans they secured for their placement fees.
“Although as many as 300 of the teachers have already been issued trafficking visas and can now legally stay and work in the US, most are hesitant to surface because of shame and fear,” Valera said. “But they are now coming forward one by one.”
