NBI Urged to Retrieve OFW Database from Winston Q8

By MA. REINA LEANNE TOLENTINO, TMT

Rep. Aniceto “John” Bertiz 3rd of Acts-OFW party-list urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Privacy Commission to “immediately retrieve” from Winston Q8 Certification Solutions Inc. the database containing names and addresses of Kuwait-bound overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The company identifies which clinics should service the OFWs for pre-employment medical examination.

“Our government needs to immediately retrieve and secure Winston Q8’s database of Kuwait-bound OFWs and make sure that their identities are not passed on to the Islamic State. We also need to determine how much money has Winston Q8 collected from our OFWs and track that money down with the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council,” Bertiz said in a statement.

On Friday, the lawmaker claimed that money from OFWs bound for Kuwait may have ended up financing the Islamic State as alleged IS member Husayn Al-Dhafiri, who was earlier nabbed by authorities, had the same name as the owner of Winston Q8.

Bertiz said Winston Q8 requires job applicants to register online and pay P5,483 through banks.

“There is so much more to this case than meets the eye. Our authorities need to find out whether Winston Q8 is the legal cover for the terrorist activities of Husayn al-Dhafiri and his accomplices. This means that suspected IS members are able to register local companies in the guise of being foreign investors, using Filipinos as dummy owners or shareholders,” he said.

The Department of Health has ordered the suspension of several clinics that Winston Q8 did business with: Abakkus Medical Diagnostic Services; Agoncillo Medical Clinic; Ruben C. Bartolome, M.S. Clinic Inc.; Global Medical Clinic Inc.; Orion Medical and Diagnostic Center; Our Health Medical and Diagnostic Center; Our Lady of All Nations X-Ray Laboratory, Medical and Dental Clinic; and San Marcelino Medical Clinic.

(Source: ManilaTimes.net)