Soltones shrugs off another finals loss

Grethcel Soltones held her head high after San Sebastian came up short
anew in the NCAA Season 92 womens volleyball tournament.
Despite another heartbreak, there was no trace of tears in Soltones face.
Why should I cry? We already lost, so should I cry too? For me, I tried
my best, we tried our best, but we just didnt make it. Theres nothing
more that we could ask from ourselves than to give our best, Soltones said
in Filipino after the Lady Stags bowed to the Arellano Lady Chiefs in four
sets Tuesday.
For all her brilliance, Soltones, a three-time NCAA MVP, failed to win the
championship in her fourth Finals appearance in five years.
Making matters worse, San Sebastian blew a thrice-to-beat advantage in
the Finals for the second straight season.
Soltones brushed off the shortcoming, saying that though she will end her
collegiate career without a title, shes still content with what she had
accomplished wearing San Sebastian colors.
I dont mind that because we tried our best. There are lots of worse things
that Ive been through. This is just the championship. Its just volleyball,
Soltones said. Had we had a complete lineup, we couldve beaten them.
Arellano deserved this and their composure showed.
Soltones hopes her teammates learned a lot from her and coach Roger
Gorayeb.
I want them to stay positive in everything they face and stay calm. I hope
that I imparted that trait to them and they learned a lot from me and coach
Roger (Gorayeb), she said.
Soltones will now shift her focus to winning a third straight beach
volleyball crown.
 Selling broken promises

ASPIRING applicants are warned against illegal recruitment agencies after operatives from

the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 caught three suspects in Barangay

Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City yesterday morning. Supt. Fermin Armendarez, chief of the CIDG-

Metro Cebu, said that they conducted an entrapment against personnel of Philjobs

Manpower Services, a local recruitment agency. "This is large-scale illegal recruitment.

When our police decoy posed as an applicant to be a driver, they issued receipts under the

name of Philjobs, which was not registered in the Department of Labor and Employment

(Dole)," Armendarez said. The suspects were identified as Heide Geraldez, 35; Edmund

Sayloon, 33; and Ruth Arcega, 34. They all hail from Mandaue City. Dole 7 filed a complaint

against the three for issuing receipts and making applicants pay P350 up to P800 using an

expired permit. "The agency was monitored since October 2016 when they advertised in a

local newspaper. When we verified them, their authority to recruit already expired in 2014,"

said Atty. Rey Buenafe, chief legal of the Dole 7. Buenafe said they have yet to verify if the

applicants who sought the services of Philjobs were given actual jobs because the

complaints they received accused the agency of asking for certain amounts from applicants

without giving them the positions they applied for. The agency has invited Felipe Retobado

Jr., Philjobs' registered owner, for questioning. Buenafe said that they are processing the

closure order against Philjobs and they expect to implement it this week. Geraldez, Sayloon

and Arcega will be charged with violating Republic Act 8042, which penalizes persons who

engage in illegal recruitment. It is a non-bailable offense. Buenafe encouraged other victims

to file a formal complaint at their office. Dole 7 Director Exequiel Sarcauga said that illegal

recruitment is a criminal offense, but its up to the CIDG to file additional charges, if there
 are any. Sarcauga said that based on their records, Philjobs was registered as a

recruitment agency, but its permit expired in 2012 yet. It reportedly continued to supply job

applicants to a registered recruitment agency. It seems they raked huge sums of money

since 2012 because the labor laws compliance officers, who validated and evaluated the

complaints, found out that it collected an average of P11,000 per day from unsuspecting job

applicants, several of whom were not hired, he said.