All evidence indicate that private respondent [All Seasons Manpower
International Services] cannot be held liable for the claims of petitioners.
Firstly, petitioners applied for overseas deployment with CBT/Shiek
International through spouses Francisco and Corazon Ngoho, Eddie Sumaway
and Erlinda Espeno. They never transacted their business with the office of
private respondent.
Secondly, when they worked at Doha, Qatar, their employer was CBT/Shiek
International who failed to pay their wages.
Thirdly, in the TEPS provided by Espeno to enable them to travel, it was made
to appear that private respondent was their agency/contractor of petitioners
and Yacoub Trading Est. is their foreign employer. They were signed by
petitioners knowing that private respondent was not their recruiter. Apparently,
Espeno conspired with petitioners and Ngoho to enable petitioners to travel to
the Middle East, ostensibly under the name of private respondent as
agent/recruiter.
Fourthly, it turned our that petitioners were recruited for Mabeco Trading and
Contracting Establishment, as the foreign principal and not Yacoub Trading
Est., which is the principal of private respondent.
Fifthly, in the very compliant filed by petitioners against private respondent they
admitted that they applied for overseas employment with the CBT/Shiek
International under the management of the Ngohos.vi[6]
In contrast, both the POEA and the NLRC found that petitioner and R & R Management
acted jointly in recruiting and deploying private respondent abroad, to wit:
This contention cannot be sustained. The records show that while complainant
applied with respondent R & R, he was however deployed by herein movant
Prime Marine and this was not rebutted during the proceedings below.
Consequently, We find no sufficient reason to disturb the questioned decision.
We, therefore, quote with approval and adopt as Our own the following findings
of the POEA Deputy Administrator.
We find respondent R & R and prime Marine jointly and severally liable
with complainants foreign employer, Arabian Gulf Mechanical Services
and Contracting Co. Ltd. R & R is the recruiting agency while Prime
Marine is the deploying agency. Complainant alleged that he applied
with R & R and the latter admitted that it has facilitated and contributed
efforts in conjunction with Prime Marine in sending the applicant
complainant abroad under a contract. Prime Marine did not rebut this
allegation. It did not even explain or touch on the matter why it
appeared as the deploying agent in the Crew Agreement exhibited by
complainant. The foregoing leads us to the inevitable conclusion that
there is a collusion between R & R and Prime Marine with respect to
complainants application and deployment. Thus, its cross claim against