Dennis Gaviola

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Toronto

ABS-CBN News

VANCOUVER  — Hundreds of Filipino victims are demanding the return of thousands of dollars in fees paid to The Promise Land Consultancy, a recruitment agency in Vancouver owned by Filipino-Canadian Joseph Miranda, alias Joseph Powers.The Promise Land Consultancy, or TPL,  allegedly lured Filipinos living in the Philippines and those working abroad with promises of jobs in Canada.Among the victims are Marivic Sumawang Pingaron, a caregiver in Tel Aviv, and Marilyn Fernandez Rabadon, the head teacher of a public high school in Pangasinan.Both were recruited by TPLC agents, who were people they knew and trusted.They were convinced to sign a contract with TPLC where they agreed to pay the agency up to $12,000 to secure jobs for them in Canada.Pingaron said she gave an agent the equivalent of P150,000 in Canadian dollars as an initial payment.Rabadon said she also paid a downpayment of P150,000 to TPLC.“Nakita ko kasi, don sa contract, na five months at wala pang job offer, puwede ko nang ma-refund yung pera, so ang lakas ng loob ko na magbigay ng ano kasi anyway after five months, mare-refund ko naman.”(On the contract, they said you can get your money back if they don&#x27;t find you a job in five months, so that convinced me to pay. Anyway, I could get a refund after five months)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/10/24/canada-slashes-immigration-as-public-concern-rises-452">Canada slashes immigration as public concern rises </a></div>Pingaron paid TPLC more than C$8,000 in two installments, but Rabadon refused to pay more after her initial C$4,000  deposit.After several months and with still no job offers, they demanded a refund.Pingaron said the agency told her that her child&#x27;s Labour Market Impact Assessment — a document sometimes required to apply for a work permit — would be released after her second payment.“&#x27;Nanghingi na pati kayo sa akin ng down payment para sa working visa ng anak ko? Bakit ngayon ay LMIA na naman ang sinasabi ninyo&#x27;,” Pingaron said, recounting her conversation with TPLC.(&#x27;You already asked for a down payment for my child&#x27;s working visa. How come you&#x27;re bringing up the LMIA again?&#x27;)She said that made her suspicious and prompted her to demand a refund.“Wala po ni piso, wala po ni piso akong na-refund.”(I haven&#x27;t received anything, not even a peso)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/5/17/illegal-recruitment-of-filipino-migrants-still-a-huge-problem-says-owwa-1324">Illegal recruitment of Filipino migrants still a huge problem, says OWWA </a></div><div>&#x27;AT LEAST C$2 MILLION IN FEES COLLECTED&#x27; </div>Rozana Solita, an immigration consultant in Canada, is a former employee of TPLC. She said she was surprised that they hired her right after she applied for a job there in March 2024.She said she started seeing red flags when most of the applicants kept asking her when they would receive their job offers. Solita was also concerned when she learned the agency was charging a down payment of between C$2,500 to C$3,500 from each of the applicants.Solita added that applicants were asked to sign a contract that included a breakdown of fees and immigration services even if procedure only requires the submission of a resume — to see if the applicant is a fit for the job opening.In the one month that Solita worked at TPLC, she saw that it had about 400 applicant folders dating back to 2023.She said that even at a &quot;conservative&quot; estimate, that would mean TPLC collected at least C$2 million just from down payments.“Just do the math. $2,500, let&#x27;s be conservative. $2,500 times 400 people. Pero hindi eh, yung iba dun pinupuwersa na niyang magbayad ng second and last payment,” Solita said.(Some of the applicants were made to give their second and last payments)<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eqv_NWxvZsk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div><div>INVALID JOB OFFERS</div>Another victim, identified only as &quot;Ken&quot; as he does not want to worry his family in the Philippines, said Miranda convinced him to come to Canada as a tourist and work at TPLC while waiting for his papers.While there, Ken met 14 other Filipino tourists who were also employed by TPLC. He said a huge chunk of their salary went back to TPLC as payment for their retainer fees.He also met Solita while working at TPLC. When she explained to them that it is illegal in Canada for tourists to work, some decided to resign.“Kami po, ilan po sa amin, mga apat po ata kami, binigyan po niya kami ng job offer na it turns out hindi naman pala valid,” Ken said of Miranda.(He gave about four of us job offers that turned out to not be valid)Ken said they also tried to get a refund of their payments to TPLC and when they couldn’t, they filed charges at the Small Claims Court of British Columbia with the help of the Migrant Workers Centre.<div>CHARGES FILED AGAINST TPLC OWNER</div>They also filed 12 charges against TPLC before the Employment Standards Branch for unfair wages, as well as complaints before the Canada Border Services Agency and the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.Ken acknowledges that he probably won’t get his money back. But he is determined to pursue the charges against Miranda and TPLC.“Yung fight na lang po talaga ngayon is for awareness and para...mapanagot po yung may sala and, hopefully, maibalik po yung pera ng iba,&quot; he said.(The fight right now is for awareness and for accountability. I hope some of the others get their money back)He said other applicants had paid with their life savings, or had taken out loans to pay TPLC&#x27;s fees.Solita said Miranda may face five criminal charges, including fraud, offering immigration services without a license, and illegal recruitment of foreign nationals.She said the applicants might get justice, but that “unfortunately, baka hindi na nila makuha yung kanilang refunds (they might not get their refunds).”Many of The Promise Land victims have submitted their complaints to the CBSA.“Hindi lang si po si Joseph Miranda ang dapat makulong. Dapat po pati yung mga kasamahan niya kasi naturuan na po niya yang mga yan,&quot; Pingaron said.(It is not just Joseph Miranda who should go to jail. His accomplices should too) The CBSA refused to confirm if they have already started their investigation into Miranda.“The Canada Border Services Agency carefully reviews all complaints of criminal activity that may constitute an offence under the Customs Act or the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, including those related to Labour Market Impact Assessment fraud,” it said in a statement.“When we become aware of situations where there are possible violation of these acts, we investigate and take the appropriate action.”The CBSA also urged victims to report their complaints online, through CBSA Border Watch.<div>TPLC CLOSED, REPLACED BY NEW COMPANY</div>Meanwhile, many of the victims said they saw Miranda’s social media posts of luxury goods and cars, which they believe came from the fees collected from them.TPLC’s office in Vancouver is now closed. ABS-CBN News tried to reach out to Miranda and the other officers of the company for comment but got no response.The company now has a new social media page called “PLC Global Solutions” where it continues to recruit for job openings in different countries. Their page also shows a new address for TPLC in California.Rabadon and Pingaron warned other Filipinos who want to work abroad not to fall for these fraudulent recruitment agencies.“Hindi naman po masamang mangarap ng greener pastures… para sa future ng family mo, pero see to it na careful na sila,” Rabadon said.(There is nothing wrong with dreaming of greener pastures, but they have to be careful for the sake of their families&#x27; future)Pingaron said that she just wanted to give her son a chance at a good future in Canada.“Huwag na po kayong mag-aksaya ng pera at huwag na po ninyong isubo yung pamilya ninyo, wala pang mangyayari, sayang po.”(Do not waste your time and do not put your family at risk for nothing. What a waste)Ken said their group received cash assistance of C$1,500 from the Philippines&#x27; Migrant Workers Office in Vancouver.He added that the Department of Migrant Workers issued a warning on social media last March against the illegal offer of visa and consultancy services by companies like Promise Land that are not licensed by the DMW.<div> </div><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sZv8gi0uSdI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Hundreds of Filipino victims are demanding the return of the thousands of dollars in fees that they paid to “The Promise Land Consultancy”, a recruitment agency based in Vancouver, and owned by Filipino-Canadian Joseph Miranda, alias Joseph Powers.

Hundreds of Filipino victims are demanding the return of the thousands of dollars in fees that they paid to “The Promise Land Consultancy”, a recruitment agency based in Vancouver, and owned by Filipino-Canadian Joseph Miranda, alias Joseph Powers.

Filipinos lose thousands of dollars to fraudulent recruitment agency in Canada

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Filipinos lose thousands of dollars to fraudulent recruitment agency in Canada

ABS-CBN News,

Rowena Papasin

Published Jun 26, 2025 07:27 PM PHT

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