MANILA, 22 July 2004 — The person allegedly responsible for bringing Louella Montenegro to her death in Lebanon has been arrested in Manila by newly appointed anti-illegal recruitment czar Reynaldo Jaylo.

The recruiter named Teresa Maganda was arrested while shopping at a Manila mall by agents of the Presidential Task Force on Illegal Recruitment (PTFIR), said Jaylo.

Jaylo’s task force has so far netted three illegal recruiters and Maganda is said to be the biggest catch. Maganda had been the subject of criminal complaints filed by five of her alleged victims, identified as Hilda Oliva and Cristina Villaflor of Cavite, Riza Aglawa of Kalinga, Glenda Alario of Isabela and Mary Ann Tubera of Quezon City.

“We expect an avalanche of complaints from victims of Teresa Maganda, who is a notorious illegal recruiter of domestic helpers in Lebanon. These illegally recruited workers end up in exploitative work environments, some even maltreated and subjected to physical as well as verbal abuse,” Jaylo said.

He said Maganda was responsible for the deployment of Montenegro, who fell from the balcony and died on Feb. 25 while trying to escape from her employer’s apartment in Beirut. A similar fate befell Luz Pacuran and Catherine Bautista, two other domestic helpers in Lebanon. The three died within a three month period (from late February to early May).

The matter was investigated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) since relatives of the three claimed that Philippine Embassy personnel had been negligent when the three approached the embassy for help because of their abusive employers.

Two more domestic helpers, Joanne Penaflorida and Raquel Villarina, formerly deployed to Lebanon later surfaced and recounted their tales to Philippine media.

The two called for the immediate termination of Labor Attaché Alicia Santos who was earlier transferred from Beirut to Rome, Italy. Amid tears, Penaflorida and Villarina recounted their experiences in the hands of Santos and her “accomplice,” Welfare Officer Mila Pe?a during a press conference arranged by the Alliance of Migrant Workers and Advocates (Amend).

Villarina had the most recent horror story as she had just returned to the country last April after a four-month stint in Beirut and after braving two abusive employers and an abusive employment agency there.

But the more weighty condemnation came from Penaflorida, who claimed Santos told her it was actually her fault for going to Lebanon in the first place. She first met Santos when she complained about her employer who repeatedly maltreated her.