“Walang manloloko kung walang magpapaloko” (There would be no tricksters if there were no gullible people).
While there is no identical saying in the English language, perhaps its most meaningful proverbial equivalent would be, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”
Or to cite a more trenchant version, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
Recently, a random news report came out in the Philippines regarding a local travel agency being investigated and shut down by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) for illegally and fraudulently recruiting Filipinos to work as caregivers in the US.
According to the news report, the company, which has a valid travel agency license, had been enticing and recruiting Filipinos via social media to travel and work as caregivers in the US for a processing fee of up to P150,000.
Among the promised job perks were a monthly salary of $1,800 (roughly P108,000) plus free accommodations and food allowances.
According to the victims, they were shown pictures of the facilities where they would be working — presumed to be assisted living homes or homes for the elderly — where free meals and sleeping quarters are customarily provided to the caregiving staff.
But there was a catch. To be admitted into the program, the applicant would need to apply for a tourist visa (or in some cases, a “training” visa) at the US Embassy in Manila.
And this is where a supposed pathway to a better life becomes a filthy racket.
Surely, the agency’s personnel, as “experts” on travel bookings and visas, must have been aware that under no circumstances would a tourist visa holder be allowed to work legally in the country she is traveling to.
According to one of the victims, her tourist visa application was denied after she had waited eight months to be interviewed. And because the agency would not refund the P90,000 processing fee that she had already paid, she lodged a complaint with the DMW.
Curiously, long before this eyebrow-raising scheme came to light, this corner had encountered a number of cases where Filipinos traveling on a tourist visa ended up working as caregivers in the US.
By their own admission, most of these Filipinos arrived as tourists but with a prearranged plan to work as caregivers, with some proceeding directly from the airport to the care homes.
Some were referred by friends or relatives already working at the facilities. A few stumbled upon the job opportunity after arriving in the US. This was the first time, however, this corner heard of an organized scheme to recruit and refer people directly from the Philippines.
When they called, most of these potential clients asked about extending their visitor’s status. Some inquired about getting a green card. Unfortunately, due to the issue of preconceived intent or potential fraud having tainted the validity of their visas, not to mention the adverse consequences of engaging in unauthorized employment, this corner had to turn down, for ethical reasons, their requests for legal representation.
Considering the brutal anti-immigration fraud campaign currently being waged by the Trump administration, anyone bold enough to bite the bullet, so to speak, by participating in the above scam would do well to remember: Playing with fire will get you burned.