Source: http://beta.ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20080711/tph-police-officer-face-illegal-recruitm-ac8c905.html
BUTUAN CITY, Philippines - A police colonel and three others are now facing charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and estafa for allegedly promising non-existent jobs abroad and collecting fees from their hapless victims.
Senior Inspector Nelly Villagracia, spokesperson of the Caraga Police Regional Office said seven victims filed charges against Senior Superintendent Camilo Batulan, his wife Flor Campos, Army Staff Sgt. Arleene Betoy, and Carmelita Balucan.
The National Bureau of Investigation regional office in Caraga formally lodged the criminal charges before Butuan City Prosecutors Office last June 27.
The NBI charged Batulan and his wife of committing six counts of illegal recruitment and three counts of Estafa, while Betoy was charged for three counts of illegal recruitment and three counts of estafa.
Balucan, on the other hand, was charged of committing three counts of illegal recruitment and one count of estafa.
Aside from these complaints, Batulan - who has been relieved from his post as chief of the Regional Investigation and Detective Management (RIDM) pending investigation - and Betoy are also facing administrative cases.
“Administrative charges have already been filed against Col. Batulan and the Army Staff Sergeant Arleene Betoy of the 30th IB Philippine Army aside from the criminal charges they are now facing", Villagarcia said.
The NBI also said investigators are also mulling to file additional charges of human trafficking or violation of Republic 6632 against the suspects.
The victims alleged that a recruitment firm being run by the suspects collected from them various amounts of money ranging from P1,000 to P15,000 from February to March this year for placement to various jobs abroad.
However, the complainants said that they did not get the promised jobs and that the suspects failed to refund the victims' payment.
The NBI also noted that the recruitment firm was not registered with the Philippine Overseas Employment Association (POEA).
In the interview, Villagracia also said complainants from as far as Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental and nearby provinces have started to flock to the regional police office here on Friday and at the NBI Caraga Regional office after learning that fellow victims have surfaced and filed complaints against the suspects.
No warrants of arrest have so far been issued against the four suspects who remain at large. - GMANews.TV
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3 comments:
It's so sad to think that the police are the ones doing this kind of thing. They are the one who catch criminals who do these kind of stuff and yet they do something bad too. You rarely see a good policeman nowadays. If you see or know one, you're lucky.
The police force was made to catch ciminals not to
hire criminals.
The job of the police is to be a good example to the people and protect them anyway they can in times of danger. In the Philippines, the police are not fulfilling their duties. Here, they think their are very boastful, because they think that no one can tell them what to do. It's very sad to these people like this.
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