I am the sister of CHARLENE TAYLOR, one of those being accused for large scale illegal recruitment. I would like to point out that there are some unverified “facts” from this report, and being a journalist myself, I find this very disturbing and unfair on my family, especially on my sister who is due to deliver her baby anytime this week.

When I came home on February 2009, I came to visit her “new office and new business” in San Mateo, Rizal. Based on my queries with my sister, she put up the “business” late last year only (last quarter of the year), and you could further check this by obtaining a copy of her business license, which also happens to be posted in their office in Banaba, San Mateo, Rizal. Thus, to say that the “victims” have paid her one year ago, is an outright lie.

Also, from my queries with my sister, she told me that they are charging her “applicants” 6T plus for the fees for the classes – preparation classes for the IELTS, TOEIC, etc. Both my sister and my brother-in-law, Kevin Taylor, also conduct the classes. She further told me that they are not charging any placement fees, since as I have reiterated to her before, there is no way she could charge such fees since her business is NOT A RECRUITMENT AGENCY. I am an OFW myself, and I believe that it is a great crime to do illegal recruitment. I have vehemently expressed this sentiment to my sister during my vacation in February, and she explained to me the nature of her business.

Honestly, I do not know the extent of the applicants’ complaints (yes, there were 400 clients but only 7 of these were the complainants), but my only desire in bringing this to your attention is to please clarify your facts. The employee being referred to by the victims happen to be a FORMER EMPLOYEE. I have yet to inquire further on how Ms. Marie was sacked in my sister’s office three weeks ago, but initially, I was told that Ms. Marie had some financial issues with her. Apparently, my sister’s accountant/bookkeeper found out some discrepancies on their monthly expenditure, and it was found out that the unaccounted expenses were of Ms. Marie’s doing. They hired an accountant to monitor the business’ gains and how much do they need to PAY FOR THE TAXES. Yes, my sister pays her taxes on time, and if they are indeed illegal recruiters, I don’t see any point why they do not need to charge for placement fees and pay the government with taxes monthly.

If it is indeed true that Ms. Marie came out to help the victims, then how come she spent few more months in the office and gained from her position? She is my sister’s immediate assistant and she knows a lot on the nature of the business. In fact, she often oversees and covers for my sister whenever my ate is out of town. How come that she suddenly became the victim’s ally now? If Ms. Marie could recall, in February 2009, my sister had some issues with one of her agents, who “recruited” some people and charged them around 10T, without my sister knowing it. My sister filed a complaint on that person and Ms. Marie knows this too well. I even spoke to Marie several times as I often visit my sister in her office, and we both discuss that they have to be more careful with their dealings to avoid being charged with illegal recruitment and not allow other parties take advantage/use the company’s name to illegally recruit other people.

During my college years in UP, we were constantly briefed and trained by our professors about “checking our facts” and becoming vigilant against being used by any party for their personal gains. It is sad that this happened in our family, and being a journalism graduate myself, this is such a slap on my face. What bothers me now is that the way this news item has been handled and aired, it immediately labeled my sister and my brother-in-law as illegal recruiters. While I understand that TV reporters have tight deadlines to meet, it is equally their obligation to check the facts and make sure that what they are about to issue as a “news story” is true and accurate in form. (Your reporter even failed to get the correct name of my sister, for God’s sake!) This is where research comes in, right? This case is still being investigated, but having the issue aired on national TV and by showing clips of my brother-in-law being peddled by policemen, how else would you expect people to judge them? I refuse to believe that sensationalism is happening in our country with the onset of the network wars. But I do plead that the next time you pick up a scoop, make it a point that you have truly checked the facts, especially if you are about to air on national TV a case which is still under investigation. In the end, I sincerely hope that your reporters remain to be unbiased and would not end up being used by anyone for their own favors. True, they have the 3’oclock deadline to beat, but does this mean that it has to be at the expense of other people? Can they simply be more careful in handling the “facts” and the scoops? Baka naman kasi makuryente lang sila, di ba?

In closing, I am not sure as to how this case will be heard by the proper authorities. But I still cross my fingers that true justice will be served, even if that means my sister and her partner will be held accountable. I am not taking sides, I only want the truth and proper handling of the story be exercised. Yes, this is a free country, but isn’t it that for every freedom comes responsibility? What happened to our Journalist’s Code of Ethics then?

NOTE: My brother-in-law and their office personnel are still detained. My sister told me that they don't have any choice but to be detained for another 7 months before a verdict is made. Should they be proven innocent, do you believe that they can still go on with the normal lives after this news report? My sister has 5 young children aged 12, 7, 4, 3, 1 plus the baby due anytime this week. I do hope that true justice will be served, no matter how slow the process may be. Thank you.