DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                        2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                     Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-611-06                                                                                                                                                                                                                             18 July 2006

DFA, PHILIPPINE EMBASSY IN ANKARA REITERATE WARNING AGAINST ILLEGAL RECRUITERS 
AS EMBASSY ASSISTS ANOTHER FILIPINO VICTIM 

18 July 2006 — The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Ankara, Turkey reiterate their warning to Filipinos wishing to work in Europe not to believe recruiters promising them visas to European destinations through Istanbul, Turkey after the Embassy assisted another Filipino to return home after being victimized by illegal recruiters in Manila and their cohorts in Turkey. 

Philippine Ambassador to Turkey Bahnarim A. Guinomla said that the Filipino arrived in Istanbul on 27 June 2006 with a 30-day tourist visa issued by the Turkish Embassy in Manila.  The Department will not release the name of the Filipino to protect his right to privacy. 

Ambassador Guinomla said that according to the Filipino, his recruiter offered him a chance to enter and work in Italy using Turkey as a transit point, in exchange for the amount of PhP 350,000. 

The Filipino related that upon his arrival in Istanbul, he was met by a certain Hasan Erkan who brought him to a small hotel. The would-be victim then gave his passport and plane ticket to Erkan. Subsequently, Erkan, returning the passport with what appeared to be a Schengen visa, instructed the Filipino to go to Bodrum, a resort city 720 km southwest of Ankara, from where he was to take a boat to a Greek island and then on to his destination in Italy. 

At the Greek island, Greek immigration authorities, after subjecting the Filipino's visa to close scrutiny, ordered him to return to Bodrum, Turkey. 

When he returned to Turkey, he went to the Embassy for assistance. 

At the Embassy,  Consul General Alfonso Ver assisted the Filipino in preparing for his return to Manila via Malaysian Airlines.  When asked by the Consul General to prepare a statement, the Filipino declined, saying he will do that in Manila with the help of a friend who works with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). 

Ambassador Guinomla calls on Filipinos wishing to work in Europe to go through the proper channels of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) to avoid being victimized by illegal recruiters.  END.

/jay

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