Alpha Assistenza SRL had no legal personality whatsoever to process the work visa applications of Filipinos seeking jobs in Italy, an embassy official of the European country confirmed to DAILY TRIBUNE yesterday.
According to Matteo Mascia, consular officer of the Embassy of Italy in the Philippines, they had no prior knowledge about the company until it was tagged in a multi-million-peso scam that victimized about 400 Filipinos.
DAILY TRIBUNE's digital show Usapang OFW, which airs every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m. on RJ TV and the paper's online platforms, broke the story in its 21 September episode.
Mascia said the immigration consultancy firm managed and owned by the couple Krizelle Respicio and Frederick Dutaro "does not cooperate in any capacity with our embassy nor, to the best of our knowledge, with the Italian authorities in our country."
The embassy confirmed its earlier statement to this paper that the scam involved the use by Alpha Assistenza of bogus work permit (nulla osta) documents that resulted in the visa applications of the complainants being rejected.
"Moreover, clear evidence of the real predatory intentions of these self-styled 'consultants' can be seen in the exorbitant sums they allegedly asked for in order to provide a visa," Mascia said.
"Not only do these sums not correspond to the much lower fees stipulated by the Visa Code for processing visa applications, but they can easily be disproven by a quick search on the internet or, once again, by a check on the institutional website of our embassy, as well as that of PIASI," he added.
Mascia said the embassy was surprised by the large number of Filipinos who fell for the alleged fraudulent scheme.
Circumventing system
"It would be interesting to know if all those allegedly defrauded had acted with integrity and in an unquestionable manner," he said. "Regrettably, the attempt to find an alternative route that would allow them to obtain what they wish for by circumventing the system bears the risk of being exposed to such scams."
As this developed, the National Bureau of Investigation called on 27 of the so-called "Alpha 400" to submit their sworn statements as part of its probe into the scam that saw each complainant paying from 3,000 to 5,000 euros (P181,522 to P302,537, respectively, based on the foreign exchange rate prevailing as of 28 September).
The NBI summons came a day after 68 of the complainants trooped en masse to the Department of Justice with the hosts of Usapang OFW to file formal complaints against Respicio and Dutaro.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla vowed justice for the victims as he ordered the NBI and DoJ prosecutors to investigate and file charges if so warranted by the evidence.
Senate resolution
On Wednesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution to investigate the scam that involved collecting money from the Filipino sponsors of the job-seekers, most of whom hailed from Batangas province.
Some job-seekers paid Alpha Assistenza in the Philippines after selling parcels of land and other valuables.
Father figure
The Filipino sponsors based in Italy had complained that Philippine Consul General to Milan Elmer Cato sat on their complaints. Cato had been described by Respicio as her "tatay-tatayan" or father figure.
Alpha Assistenza was the primary sponsor of the Milan consulate's Independence Day celebration last 18 June, during which Cato thanked Respicio and Dutaro for their help.
Meanwhile, Mascia stressed that the only entity authorized to deal with visa applicants in the Philippines is the Philippine Interactive Audiotext Services Inc., or PIASI.
He noted that the nulla osta issued to the "victims" of Alpha Assistenza SRL were "not genuine." This was discovered, he said, after his office received a significant number of applications for employment visas from Filipinos accompanied by an alleged hard copy of a nulla osta last spring.
"We therefore progressively started collecting the clearances in question and requested their verification from the SUI (Single Desk for Immigration) that had allegedly issued the clearances, receiving confirmation that they were not genuine," Mascia said.
Having ascertained that none of the applicants in question had received a nulla osta, nor had the alleged employers in Italy ever applied for a nulla osta in their name, the visa office denied the applications, Mascia explained.
Rome prosecutors alerted
Discovering the "fraud perpetrated on visa applicants by other unscrupulous Philippine citizens," the embassy immediately reported the matter to the Public Prosecutors Office in Rome, he said.
Also informed of the fraud were SUI, the Questura territorially competent in Italy, and the Visa Unit of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The embassy also alerted PIASI, their third-party service provider for the visa service in the country, to "not accept any more applications for subordinate work visas without prior verification by our Office of the authenticity of the relevant nulla osta."
The move, he explained, was in place to curb and discourage those who use the embassy for their illegal activities, as well as to prevent applicants from having to "pay more money in order to be able to submit a visa application that could have had no other outcome but denial."
In the subsequent months, the embassy received more complaints from defrauded visa applicants who demanded an explanation for the rejection of their visa applications, he said.
Mascia said the embassy hopes the perpetrators of the alleged recruitment scam would be held accountable for their crimes.
Meanwhile, he reminded Filipinos dreaming of working in Italy to "exercise due diligence and ensure that he or she is properly and fully informed of the correct procedures to be followed, avoiding 'shortcuts' not contemplated by the law."
"The defrauded applicants should, therefore, have at least verified the terms and conditions for achieving their purpose of traveling to Italy for work, referred exclusively to official sources, including the institutional website of our embassy, also available in English, as well as that of PIASI, referring directly to the official contacts of our embassy, also easily available on our website, to address queries or obtain more information on the procedures involved," he said.
Inaction denied
"They should have been wary of private entities that evidently do not enjoy any legitimacy or official recognition and, as unfortunately happened in this case, do not always act in the interest of the applicants, let alone in compliance with the law," he added.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it is "seriously looking" into the alleged recruitment scam.
"The DFA is seriously looking into these allegations and is working with other agencies such as DMW (Department of Migrant Workers) on the matter," DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo de Vega said.
"Under Republic Act 11641, it would be the DMW's Migrant Workers Office in Milan that would primarily be responsible for assisting OFWs, but other government agencies, including the DFA, will be doing their part to assist the victims," he said.
Contrary to the "non-action" of the Philippine consulate in Milan, De Vega said the DFA has been receiving reports on the actions being taken by the consulate.
"While resolution of such cases in coordination with local Italian authorities will take time, the consulate has been instructed to do everything possible to address the grievances of the complainants," he said.
He said the DFA is "looking forward" to working with the Senate as it probes the matter.
