200 and counting: Cases piling up vs illegal recruiter

More than 200 people have filed a complaint against one of the people running an illegal recruitment ring in Manila, the National Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday.

The complainants are among the estimated 7,000 people victimized by Maria Teresa Bumatay Baruelo who has yet to be arrested.

“We are looking at P105 million as her [Baruelo] minimum earning. It could go to as high as P210 million,” said agent-on-case Oliver de Rivera Jr of the NBI’s Special Action Unit (SAU).

Rivera said the victims were promised work at a diaper factory in Japan. But first, they were asked for payments ranging from P15,000 to P120,000, depending on their financial capacity.

Baruelo reportedly operated MA. T.B. Baruelo Travel and Tour Consultants in Pasay City, Garnet International in Quezon City, and Diwata General Services in Manila, among other agencies.

Based on NBI records, Baruelo also went by other names, including Maria Teresa Bumatay Buruelo and Ma. Theresa Boruelo.

“We have information that her business is still running,” Rivera said.

On July 16, the NBI arrested one of Baruelo’s alleged recruiters, Analyn Ducusin. Since then, Baruelo’s victims have been flocking to the NBI to file a complaint against Ducusin.

They included Daniel and his wife, Daisy, who said they were forced to borrow money just to pay the P120,000 fee demanded by Baruelo.