The Philippine Consul General in Milan confirmed Tuesday it is currently investigating two agencies and five individuals involved in an alleged recruitment scam.

According to Consul General Elmer Cato, they have been investigating reports of fraudulent job offers for the past two months.

"Dalawang agencies 'yung iniimbestigahan ng consulado the past two months patungkol sa complaints na ipinaabot sa atin," Cato told Teleradyo Serbisyo.

"At least two agencies and several individuals, actually, although ang napapabalita diyan sa Pilipinas, 'yung isang ahensiya lang at isang tao. Actually there are several individuals involved but these are separate transactions," Cato added.

According to Cato, the people involved in the alleged scam are Filipinos who offer non-existent jobs.

He also said the complainants are Filipinos already based in Milan, and act as "middlemen" between their friends or relatives in the Philippines and the Milan-based agencies.

Cato added they have been hearing about these stories for a while, but there are only a few Filipinos who actually report to them.

The Consulate is asking those who have been defrauded to come to the consulate so it can file a class suit against the said agencies and individuals.

He also said the Consulate General is doing its best to stop the predatory practice.

"'Yung position ng konsulado is we really have to do more to stop this predatory practice kasi kawawa naman 'yung mga kababayan natin dito," Cato said.

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Cato earlier said the Consulate General has coordinated with local Italian authorities regarding these cases.

As of Monday, 51 individuals have filed complaints with the Consulate General against three individuals and two agencies. This number increased from 33 complainants last week.

The complainants represent around 215 jobseekers from the Philippines, who were defrauded of as much as P180,000 each, or a total of P38.7 million.

• PH Consulate in Milan working with Italian authorities on alleged recruitment scam