Church launches drive against illegal recruiters

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – After one of its member died abroad under suspicious circumstances, the Anglican Church launched a drive against illegal recruitment and demanded that government put a stop to the nefarious activities here.

Fr. Claudio Bagano, rector of the St. Thomas Parish here, said Esteban Digmo, 29, married, of Jose Anniban here, was recruited by the Step Up Agency based in Singapore through its representatives in the Philippines whom he identified as Purisa Floho, head of provincial recruiters, and Benny Apalla, its agent in Kalinga.

Bagano said last Jan. 23, Digmo flew to Singapore on a tourist visa and from there, he was sent by the agency which name does not appear in the master list of the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency to Taiwan.

It was in Taiwan where he boarded a Taiwanese fishing vessel as a fisherman.

Father Bagano said last June 2, the family of Digmo received from Apalla a text message that Digmo had died without giving any detail.

Among documents provided by Father Bagano was a letter of Ambassador Bienvenido Tejano reporting the Digmo case to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

It stated that Digmo allegedly died while on board the Chien Cheng, a vessel registered in Taiwan, after he had killed two Chinese crewmen.

The incident allegedly took place in Philippine waters last May 25 and that the incident prompted the vessel to sail to Fiji.

The letter further said an investigation conducted by Philippine honorary consul to Fiji Dr. Virgilio de Asa showed Digmo went berserk and killed two Chinese, and later went after a fellow Filipino with the pair of knives he used in killing his victims.

The letter also mentioned a story in a Fiji newspaper which cited unconfirmed information that after the killing of two Chinese, Digmo was tied down and while in that condition, he was hitting his head.

Tejano quoted a report on the post-mortem examination that Digmo had died from “hemorrhagic shock due to extensive soft tissue bleed as a result of multiple bruises.” This prompted De Asa, a medical doctor, to express doubt that Digmo could have injured himself that way when he was tied down.

Tejano reported that because of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Digmo, he had ordered De Asa to ask Fiji authorities not to cremate the remains of Digmo.

The family was later forced to agree to the cremation because it is difficult to get the body due to the unavailability of commercial flights. -- EAJ