OFW comes home from Saudi to cops waiting to arrest her

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Police in Bukidnon arrested a woman, who had just returned home from work as a nursing aide in Saudi Arabia, for a string of criminal cases against her, including illegal recruitment.

Police caught up with Crisilyn Batican, 39, at the funeral of a relative on Thursday (Jan. 16).

Capt. Vincent Claud, head of the tracking team formed by the Bukidnon police to hunt Batican, said four warrants of arrest were served on the suspect as soon as she arrived home at the village of New Compostela Valley in Damulog town, Bukidnon. She had just returned from Saudi Arabia when she was arrested.

Batican is facing cases of online libel and libel in Cagayan de Oro City and illegal recruitment and estafa in Quezon City.

SSgt. Alan Coludo, a member of the tracking team, said police received information that Batican was expected to go home due to a death in the family.

“We waited for her,” said Coludo.

Police turned Batican over to the Damulog Municipal Police right after her arrest.

Coludo said Batican told investigators she had been working in Saudi Arabia for five years as a nursing aide.

According to Maj. Silvestre Asiong Jr., the Bukidnon provincial police spokesperson, two of the warrants were issued by Judge Charito Gonzales, of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 80 in Quezon City for a case of illegal recruitment.

Gonzales also issued an arrest warrant against Batican on June 28, 2013 for three counts of estafa with recommended bail of P18,000 per count.

In this city, Judge Dennis Alcantar, of RTC Branch 18, issued another warrant of arrest for Batican on July 17, 2018 for two counts of online libel. Judge Emmanuel Pasal, of RTC Branch 38, issued a warrant for libel.

Judge Alcantar recommended a bail bond of P48,000 for each count of online libel while Judge Pasal recommended a bond of P20,000 for the libel case.

Caludo said, however, that no bail was recommended for the illegal recruitment case.

Edited by TSB