‘Damn, what is wrong with you, sir!?’

An exasperated Sen. Raffy Tulfo yesterday asked this question to Philippine Consul General to Milan Elmer Cato as he vowed to fight “to the very end” the cyber libel charges that the diplomat filed against three scamming “victims” of Italy-based Alpha Assistenza SRL.

Nearly throughout the hearing of the Senate Migrant Workers Committee headed by Tulfo, Cato tried to defend himself against accusations that he was the coddler of Alpha Assistenza co-CEOs Krizelle Respicio and Frederick Dutaro. 

Tulfo vowed to provide the three with lawyers against Cato’s libel complaint.

Cato told the committee he filed defamation charges against Apple Cabasis, Vanessa Antonio, and Victoria Cabantac because they were the alleged sources of DAILY TRIBUNE’s stories late last year that, according to the official, portrayed him as the protector of Respicio and Dutaro.

Antonio was sobbing throughout the hearing, prompting Tulfo to ask why she was crying. In between pained howls, Antonio said Cato had made them — the several dozen complainants against Alpha Assistenza, victims twice over. 

Each complainant against Alpha Assistenza lost at least 2,500 euros, or about P152,000, at the present exchange rate. Now, the three of them are even facing cyber libel charges, she lamented.

According to news reports, Cato filed 17 counts of cyber libel against this paper and Antonio, Cabasis, and Cabantac before a prosecutor in Pampanga. DAILY TRIBUNE has yet to receive a copy of the P10-million defamation complaint. 

“I was one of those he charged. I was also one of the victims of Alpha Assistenza. I was a former OFW in Taiwan,” Antonio sobbed. “I was just dreaming of a better life for my family.”

Tulfo then asked Cato: “She was a victim, yet you filed a case against them? Damn, what is wrong with you, sir!?”

“They were being quoted as saying that I did not act on the complaints they had brought to my attention,” Cato replied.

But Antonio and Cabasis reiterated that the other “victims” of the firm sought their and DAILY TRIBUNE’s assistance to contact Cato.

“We have sought DAILY TRIBUNE’s help since September. The DAILY TRIBUNE also asked for his side,” Antonio said, belying Cato’s claim the paper did not contact him to get his reactions to the complaints. 

“We reached out to DAILY TRIBUNE to complain about Alpha. The complaints about Cato received by DAILY TRIBUNE did not come from us,” Cabasis said. “We just became the messengers because we were the first ones interviewed,” she pointed out.

“We were the source on the Alpha case about the allegations against Cato that (actually) came from the OFWs in Milan. We were forwarding it to DAILY TRIBUNE,” Cabasis told Tulfo.

Hearing Antonio and Cabasis, Tulfo turned to Cato and said: “So, there was really a legitimate complaint, Consul General. These complaints are valid. They just forwarded it to DAILY TRIBUNE and DAILY TRIBUNE has to write that because the claims are valid,” he said.

Tulfo himself attested to the fairness of the paper.

“I just want to add, Mr. Cato, to what they (Antonio and Cabasis) are saying that TRIBUNE was fair. I can attest to that because recently, when I was featured in the TRIBUNE, and I sent them a letter, they aired my side,” he said.

“You should have listened and talked to them when they contacted you because the TRIBUNE is fair. That was your mistake. You ignored them,” he added.

Tulfo continued: “Hence, the victims reached out to other government agencies and were given help. The issue became bigger.”

The senator then schooled government officials, including Cato, on promptly responding whenever journalists asked for their side of the story.

“The first moment when the media reaches out for your side, answer them. Do not be scared. You should be happy instead because other media entities would just hit you without getting your side,” he said.

“When the media calls you to get your side, you should celebrate because that means they are fair,” he added.

‘Fairness’

Maria Bettina M. Fernandez, executive vice president of the Concept Information Group, the mother company of DAILY TRIBUNE, stressed that the paper and its digital show she co-hosts, Usapang OFW, had sought Cato’s side many times. 

“We have never been parsimonious with the opportunity to air both sides of the story, unlike what you said in your libel case,” Fernandez said, referring to Cato.

“In fact, not only did we wholeheartedly entertain a certain Jeffrey Villalon — he’s not here — who held himself out as the marketing director of Alpha Assistenza to get his side of the story,” she said.

Fernandez continued, still referring to Cato: “We advised him, being a friend, to issue an official statement as he refused to be interviewed in order to clear the air, so to speak. All of these things can be proven and are documented.”

Villalon reached out to TRIBUNE last year to expose the alleged close ties between Respicio, one of the owners of the Alpha Assistenza, and Cato.

He also provided the paper with a photo of Respicio hugging Cato and a video of a Philippine consulate general in the Milan celebration of Philippine Independence 2023 hosted by Alpha Assistenza. 

Fernandez reiterated that the victims’ accounts were only carried by TRIBUNE after the paper vetted their veracity. 

“The DAILY TRIBUNE must exhibit fealty to its duty to disseminate news and information — without fear, without favor, as our masthead defines,” she said.

Allan Hernandez, who wrote most of DAILY TRIBUNE’s stories while producing and directing its Usapang OFW show, belied Cato’s claim the paper did not seek his reaction. 

When Tulfo sought to subpoena phone records and actual transcripts of Cato’s messages with Hernandez, Cato agreed to DAILY TRIBUNE counsel and columnist Atty. Ferdinand Topacio’s motion for the consul general to waive his right to data privacy.

Topacio also moved for the Department of Foreign Affairs to order Cato to stay in the Philippines for the Senate committee investigation, which will have its second hearing on 13 February. 

Dissociate from ‘patronatos’

Seated beside Cato, Foreign Affairs Secretary Eduardo De Vega said he ordered Cato, on the advice of the Philippine ambassador to Italy, to personally disassociate himself with the so-called “patronatos” like Alpha Assistenza SRL.

Cato, at one point, said the “patronatos” — entities who serve as “fixers” may be “part of the problem but are also part of the solution,” earning a sharp rebuke from Senator Tulfo that they cannot be the solution while also being the problem.

The consul general also claimed credit for the cases against Alpha Assistenza in Italy. Still, those only started rolling with the appointment of a lawyer for the “victims” after De Vega personally went to Milan to look at the complaints against Alpha Assistenza and Cato.

“There is a perception that the consul general is protecting Alpha Assistenza. That is why I said from now on, to avoid misconceptions, we cannot associate ourselves with patronatos. They are on their own,” he added.

In interviews with DAILY TRIBUNE, Villalon said Alpha Assistenza served as a “gold sponsor” of the consulate’s 2023 Philippine Independence Day celebration. He intimated that money changed hands from Alpha Assistenza to Cato.

He said the Italian provider of the video wall used in the event sought his help to collect 16,000 euros from the consulate as full payment for its 29,000 euros lease cost contracted by Alpha.

“The consulate has no transactions with ‘patronatos’ because, in our local definition, they would appear to be ‘fixers.’ So we do not have any transactions with them,” Cato claimed. 

Subpoena vs Respicio, Dutaro

Tulfo ordered the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers to subpoena Respicio and Dutaro, who initially confirmed their attendance but later backed out without explanation.

“They initially responded to WhatsApp and acknowledged our invitation, but they failed to provide a justifiable reason regarding their absence today,” he said.

“Therefore, I am directing the committee secretary to issue a subpoena. If they subsequently fail to comply, I will not hesitate to hold them in contempt and have them arrested,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who had also sought the legislative inquiry into the widespread illegal recruitment activities of Alpha Assistenza, requested a hold-departure order be issued against the firm’s owners.

“May we request a hold-departure order against Respicio if they are still here in the Philippines?” Hontiveros proposed.

This was seconded by Tulfo, who also inquired about reports that Respicio and Dutaro had already left the Philippines last December.

Responding to the proposal, the Department of Justice said it could no longer issue a hold-departure order against individuals pursuant to a recent Supreme Court decision.

It, however, could issue a lookout bulletin against Respicio and Dutaro.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Respicio left the Philippines in December.

“They went to Saudi Arabia. They left on 13 December 2023,” the BI said.

Extradition

This prompted Tulfo to ask the DFA if the Philippine government had an extradition treaty with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to which the department answered negatively.

Topacio proposed to the Senate panel to make an extradition request to Saudi Arabia’s government.

“If I may, while there is no extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia, from what I know of diplomatic relations, an extradition may be requested on a case-to-case basis as long as you have diplomatic relations with that country,” he told the lawmakers.

He likewise asked the Senate panel to prevent Cato from leaving the country while the case is ongoing.

“May we respectfully request this committee to urge the DFA to keep, in the meantime, that there is an investigation, ConGen Cato in the Philippines?” he said.

For its part, Tulfo said the Senate panel would review all the available documents about the allegations against the consul general.

He said the panel would need to discuss his request with the agencies concerned before making a decision.

In the same hearing, the Department of Migrant Workers, or DMW, said Alpha Assistenza SRL is guilty of wide-scale illegal recruitment in the Philippines.

DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia was present during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers on the wide-scale illegal recruitment activities of Alpha Asssitenza SRL.

Alpha Assistenza allegedly duped over 400 Filipinos, both in the Philippines and Italy, who had paid exorbitant fees for relatives in the Philippines to secure what later turned out to be non-existent jobs under Italy’s “decreto flussi” program.

“It was not a licensed recruitment agency. The DMW never gave it a license. The DWM investigating team found out it had conducted recruitment activities in the Philippines. Therefore, it is guilty of conducting illegal recruitment,” he told the Senate panel.