From: ME <edsgiftsetc@...>
Subject: [Help_Kevin_Taylor] Re: My observations of what the future may bring
To: Help_Kevin_Taylor@yahoogroups.com
Received: Sunday, 27 February, 2011, 3:15 PM

 

Good point grace. You know what. The outcome is going to be the outcome no matter what we do, unless there is some sure way that one of us or all of us sticking together can do something to change the outcome for the better. The philippine legal system doesnt want to heare truth. They only want to get something out of the matter and naturally the outcome is not going to suit the taylors.

Here is a thought that may have surely worked in the end, eventhough not vialble or accepted by most....All of the money used to pay for lawyers and other legal aid or services could have all just been saved up to bribe the judge and have the money sent to them from someone not in the philippines so they could not put that person in jail too. Pay half the pay the other half after the release of the taylors. I have talked to some people I know in the legal system (withput mentioning names and saying as if it were me in the situation) and they said that bribing is more fulproof than anything the legal system has to offer. That came from people working in the legal system.

Ed

--- In Help_Kevin_Taylor@yahoogroups.com, Grace Mannors <gracemannors@...> wrote:
>
> Mr Russ. whose side u on? prosecuter or u just tryn to be clever?
> like i say b4 that law was to stop people be trick n sold for sex n other bad
> things.not 4 sir kevin who jus try help evewn if he bit slow understandn law.
> not mak him bad man n not deserve this. him n charlene there prison not
> technical his be blind not technical his be broken hearted n not see his childs
> not technical, his lose all he has not technical. u make me mad talk like this
> just b4 trial.
> that VP Binay n de Lima if they cannot tell who is gud guy n who is bad guy wat
> is right n wat is wrong wen someone be trapped by cheatyers then we in this
> country got no chance n dont desreve that money from US state. we want see wat
> is right not wat is technical n mak big people look gud.so there!
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Russ <serious_chat_man@...>
> To: Help_Kevin_Taylor@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sat, 26 February, 2011 15:32:53
> Subject: [Help_Kevin_Taylor] My observations of what the future may bring
>
>  
> Initially our primary concern was the well-being of Kevin/Charlene (which I will
> just call the couple as I progress down this post) with their guilt or innocence
> not being of primary concern.
>
> Hell, when Zeff bought up this situation in January, no-one was even sure where
> the couple were being held!
>
> As for the legal side of things, as long as the Philippine justice system was
> treating them fairly(by Philippines standards), then thats a matter for the DOJ
> to take it to a truthful, just conclusion and not for us to interfere with.
>
> Thanks to the fantastic efforts of David and Peter, giving up their own time and
> at some risk to themselves, it has been established by their personal visits to
> the jail just what their well-being is currently and we have all helped to at
> least give them some comradeship and a little help where we can.
>
> The following is just my thoughts on how they have come to be in this situation,
> I still believe that their well-being, their basic human rights are the main
> concern, no matter what the outcome in court.
>
> I don't know Kevin or Charlene personally but I am sure they are decent people
> from the reading of their letters on their various internet postings HOWEVER
> they chose a risky business and should have stuck to purely teaching English,
> without all this mention of working in conjunction with "3rd party employers
> overseas"
>
> I will make it very plain, not matter whether found innocent or otherwise, I
> think the couple believed they acted within the Philippine law but the courts
> may not take that view.
>
> All people deserve the right to be treated with dignity, with regard to their
> human rights and fair, due process through the justice system.
>
>
> But now, with the well-being/human rights aspects taken care of in the short
> term at least - some reflections are occuring to me about just what will happen
> to the couple in the justice system - conjecture, idle thinking on my part.
>
> There seem to be some strange things that have happened (complainants not
> turning up, still no-one knows who the lawyer is or why they jump from court to
> court for each pre-hearing) but these are just part of the Philippine justice
> system, it seems crazy to us and difficult to comprehend some aspects - but
> thats how things are in Philippines.
> Whether the arrest was illegal, or the justice system has treated them poorly -
> these to me are like procedural matters.
>
> There was considerable concern that the justice system was not treating them
> fairly but pre-hearings are now moving along (although after almost two years of
> sluggish justice department effort), although there still seems to be a big
> question mark over whether they are getting fair legal representation, acting
> EXCLUSIVELY IN THE COUPLES INTEREST.
>
> The ultimate question I now ponder is:
>
> What is likely to be the verdict of the court?
>
> We must be realistic, and the verdict may be hard to swallow but we should be
> prepared for all eventualities when the judge makes his/her verdict of the
> charges they have to answer.
>
> First, on one side is VP Binay, who heads the Special Task force to crack down
> on illegal recruiters. He is hard-lining this issue, he has to because the US
> State Department has Philippines on their "watch list" as a Tier 2 country - not
> good. Substantial future funding to Philippines is at threat if Philippines
> doesnt lift their game in the eyes of USA.
> VP Binay has clearly stated he will be hard on illegal recruiters and even
> suggested that some will be made examples of - to teach both the illegal
> recruiters a lesson and others who contemplate such a business.
>
> URL Reference:
> http://www.gmanews.tv/story/206449/binay-pushes-for-creation-of-task-force-vs-human-trafficking
>
>
> Partial quote:
>
> "Binay stressed the government must step up efforts to catch and convict illegal
> recruiters, to show that it is serious in curbing illegal recruitment and human
> trafficking.
>
> "Kailangan may maipakulong tayo para matuto sila at malaman nila na seryoso
> tayo," he added. (We need to convict some to teach them a lesson and for them to
> realize that we are serious about this.)"
>
> So we have VP Binay calling for blood (no mention of ALLEGED illegal recruiters,
> as though those caught are already considered guilty), his instrument is DOJ -
> they will be strongly seeking convictions of illegal recruiters.
>
> Interestingly, the DOJ doesnt have the same vigour when it comes to the staff
> who were also arrested but released on bail in 2010 - the DOJ seem to have the
> "master minds" squarely in their sights.
>
> Now as for the couples case.
> It doesnt look good, sure they have always claimed they weren't in the illegal
> recruiting or agency business but I personally feel they were skating damn close
> to line and will get caught up as "technical" illegal recruiters if you like.
>
> From the early days when the Taylors had advertisements to teach English on the
> beach up near Bagiuo in a Homestay environment, this venture into the murky
> world of overseas employment and Visa's is a much more dangerous thing to be
> involved in.
> Sure it would have seemed as a natural progression to move in the preparation
> for IELTS or TOIEC (internationally recognised English language testing
> programs) and a much larger market than just teaching people to speak/write
> English but why on earth then get involved with the international employment
> market, they should have stayed right out of that market and they definitely
> were involved. One just one blog there are a lot of enquiries about overseas
> work, AND THEY ANSWER THEM. They should have stuck to the English testing
> program and thats it.
>
> Not a good move I think.
>
> Look CLOSELY at their own blog which makes the couples involvement very murky
> indeed - on this blog are many interested filipinos looking for work and the
> couple answering "can do, send in your resume" and even one enquirer who had
> sent in her paperwork and wanted to check if it was ok for her cousin to make
> the "processing fee" payment.
>
> See the post from Ellaine March 2009, saying that HELEN (one of the staff
> members Charlene says set them up) told her she has a job and now she is going
> to send her processing fee - I would presume HELEN asked her for that fee - now
> whether that was something Helen was doing off her own bat or a normal part of
> business, who knows but it indicates a fee for using their services.
> Sure, Charlene in the immediate previous post, responding to another enquiry,
> does say clearly they are not an agency and collect no placement fees and yet we
> have the next posting asking where to send the "processing fee" - this could be
> Helen slipping money on the side but that doesnt seem likely as this was on the
> blog the couple would read as well - once the couple read that, they would have
> known Helen was playing funny buggers with them.
> It could well be a fee for something quite innocent but it doesnt say what it is
> for, just "processing fee" and there is no response from the Taylors, keep in
> mind the prosecution will love this sort of thing and then with complainants
> statements with the same sort of thing in them, they will get "done".
>
> The courts could simply view this as a placement fee - end of case.
> At the very least, Charlene could have replied IMMEDIATELY to that post
> confirming payment can be sent for whatever legitimate purpose, but stating very
> clearly that it is NOT a placement fee. As far as I can see, if the court sees
> this processing fee requests as "placement" fees, they are then acting as an
> agency in the eyes of the court.
>
> URL Reference:
> http://taylorstravel.webs.com/apps/blog/categories/show/34374-country-guides
>
> Partial blog quote:
>
> "charlene taylor 09:25 PM on March 07, 2009
> Hi, first I would like to inform you that we are not an agency! We are
> consultancy, we assist our applicant get employers through our endorsement and
> LMO. Our commitment with our clients made our Name stand out from others. We do
> not hire people but we can help you be hired and get a proper WORKING VISA. The
> difference between my company to agencies or recruitment offices is that they
> have POEA liscence as it is a MUST they have to register. They collect PLACEMENT
> as they are the one hiring. WE DONT. We can assist people especially those who
> have the qualifications our employers are looking for. We dont base it according
> to those who has money or not. We endorse succesful applicants through POEA
> Name-Hire division. That is when you already finished taking the TOEIC or IELTS
> and already received your LMO. LMO is a government body from the host country
> which verifies your employer, the job and the will allow your employer hire you
> as a foriegn worker. It is as well your gaurantee that there is a job. LMO will
> help you get the proper Visa.
>
>
> Reply Ellaine 10:17 AM on March 12, 2009
> Hello Maam.. Mam Helen just called me up last week and told me that i have
> already an employer. Shes asking me to send the processing fee. I'll let my
> cousin to pay for it. is it ok? "
>
>
> End of partial blog
>
> If the prosecution has this type of thing in evidence from the complainants,
> then it might be pretty damning to the couple.
>
> Conspiracy theory!
> Maybe the wheels were in motion already to entrap the couple, but I am just
> speculating. Look at the resume that an applicant put online stating she worked
> as provincial political campaign organiser for Joker Arroyo.
> Now, keep in mind Joker has a history of human rights work as a lawyer and has
> been a long term senator in the government.
> He was born in Naga, always been associated with Cam Sur and this is the same
> area that the Secretary Of Justice De Lima was born (Erina, just out of Naga
> some 20 minutes). Sure she wasnt in that position when the arrests occured, she
> was Chairman of the Human Rights Commission.
>
> In my mind there is this tangled mess of suspected illegal recruiters and highly
> placed people who are involved in a similar area - human rights. Along comes an
> applicant, who at one time worked for the human rights lawyer, Joker Arroyo and
> now the top job at DOJ is De Lima - she is not going to let this case go lightly
> I feel.
>
> Co-incidence? I dont know but if DOJ wants to put the goods on someone, who
> better than speaking with a friend in the senate (Joker Arroyo) who can gets one
> of his staffers to send in an application to the Taylors and see what happens?
>
> Look, I am sure the Taylors believe they are innocent but take a look at a
> hypothetical situation.
>
> If you have house break-in tools in your hands and the police stop you and they
> find those tools, then its damned hard to convince the police you werent doing
> or intending to be up to no good.
>
> Conversations on this blog and statements by the complainants and even using the
> word VISA in their business name (damn stupid in my opinion) may very well work
> against them in court.
>
> Russ
>