THE Philippines’ labor attaché in Australia left that country without saying goodbye, and apparently also without paying his debts if the claims against him are true, the ABS-CBN network reported yesterday.
It said Victor Julio Ablan left Australia last week after having been recalled by the Labor Department on the recommendation of the Philippine Embassy in Canberra, and based on his “unpaid obligations” and “deceit.”
The network said it had been calling Ablan on his mobile phone and leaving messages, but he had not responded.
Ablan had lived in Apartment 6 on Walsh Street in Melbourne. An American-Australian who lived on the same street said he borrowed A$500 from her in July and promised to pay her in a week, but he never did.
“I didn’t know him very well. He had just moved in and he needed money to pay the rent. He said the Manila office hadn’t wired his salary,” said the woman who asked that her name be withheld.
“I am a pensioner on a very limited budget and need to pay my bills.”
Ablan’s real estate agent, an elderly Australian woman, claims he never paid rent and owed her over A$5,000.
“I just want my money back,” she said, adding the two checks that Ablan had issued her, including a check drawn from the account of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, were dishonored.
The network said nine Filipino-Australian community leaders claimed that Ablan borrowed or attempted to borrow money from them between 2008 and 2009, but he never paid them back.
“He doesn’t deserve to be in the public service,” one of them said.
