Three face child abuse, illegal recruitment raps

Charges for large scale illegal recruitment and child abuse is set to be filed by the Department of Labor and Employment and the Bacolod City Police before the city prosecutor’s office today against the three persons nabbed Friday at the Banago wharf.

The charges will be filed against Alicia Deocampo, 55, of Brgy. Malibo, Batangas City, and Teotimo Apolo, 54 and Rolando Somibig, 41, both of Brgy. Lineo, Escalante City, Station 3 chief, Insp. Jose Mulleta said yesterday.

Apolo, Deocampo and Somibig were arrested by DOLE and the joint operatives of the maritime and Station 3 policemenFriday on information from a resident of Escalante City that they were recruiting workers to work for on a sugarcane field in Calaca, Batangas.

Sixty sugarcane workers, seven of them minors, were rescued from the three alleged recruiters after their arrest, police records showed.

The three failed to present permits from the DOLE permitting them to recruit the sugarcane workers, and are now detained at Police Station 3, police records also showed.

DOLE OIC regional director Crispin Dannug, Jr. yesterday said the suspects violated recruitment and placement procedures under Department Oder No.7, series of 1976, which is relative to the Labor Code of the Philippines.

He said article 38 of the Labor Code summarizes the violation of the suspects. An act is considered illegal recruitment if it is undertaken by non-licensees or non-holders or committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three or more persons conspiring, he said.

The recruiters also failed to show a contract of employment executed between the works and planters through their representatives, which is a requirement before the transporting of workers to the jobsite, Dannug said.* ANP/LTG