German illegal recruiter nabbed at Clark Airport, four Filipinas rescued

Immigration agents on Monday arrested a German national while allegedly trying to spirit off four Filipinas at the Clark International Airport to illegally work as caregivers in his home country.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) identified the foreigner as Herbert Joseph Vogt, 72, who was booked in a Qatar Airways flight for Doha, en route to Germany, together with the four women he allegedly hired without the necessary permits.

Citing a report from BI Deputy Commissioner Marc Red Marinas, the statement said it was the women who admitted upon questioning before their flight that they were hired by Vogt to work as caregivers at a nursing home in Germany.

“We have been receiving reports from the (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) that many caregivers were recruited for deployment to Germany without securing the proper work permits, guised as trainees,” Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said in the statement.

According to Marinas, the women admitted that they prepared for the possible work in Germany by first studying the German language in Manila, with Vogt as their teacher.

The victims, whose identities were not revealed, also claimed that Vogt helped process their job applications.

Vogt was turned over to the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) pending the filing of illegal recruitment and human trafficking charges against him.

Meanwhile, the four victims were immediately referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.

Morente reminded Filipinos who are interested in working abroad to “only trust accredited recruitment agencies, and must ensure that they have the proper documentation from the POEA.”

It was earlier reported that Germany needs are at least 35,000 caregivers to care for its growing elderly population.

Officials in Berlin have described the shortage of caregivers as a deepening crisis that necessitated urgent government attention.  /muf