I wrote about an entry about the Marisyl Castillon vs. Michael Turner outsourcing fiasco back in August last year. I thought that issue was already done and been dealt with until I saw this news report from the local TV Patrol down south.
Here’s a crude summary translation of the TV report (done in Visayan language):
“About Php1.3 million worth of computers was seized from the office of SEO Builders upon the order of a Cagayan de Oro RTC judge. They were taken from the possession of Marisyl Castillon which included 27 computer sets allegedly owned by her former boss/partner Michael Allan Turner. SEO Builders is registered with the DTI under the name of Castillon“.
Okay, I’m not really good at Bisaya but it turns out that Mr. Turner wants all of his investments back and now the sheriffs will take custody of the properties in question. Castillon refrained from making a statement and insist that she’s more focused on continuing the service to their customers.
I cannot attest to the veracity of this story but it looks like an interesting one. This got my attention because Marc did an interview with the CEO of the company for PTB months ago. Here’s how I understood what happened in a small SEO outsourcing outfit (HarvestSEO) based in Cagayan de Oro (CDO):
i) A businessman in the US (Michael Turner) hired someone from the Philippines to run an outsourcing company of around 40 people.
ii) The Filipina partner (Marisyl Castillon) runs everything as the General Manager under the guidance of the American businessman. The American gets all payments (of undisclosed amounts) from clients and only remits a portion thereof to the Philippines.
iii) Both had a fight with each other (The Filipina claimed to have been physically and verbally abused) while on a US trip for SES (Search Engine Strategies) Conference. The Filipina reports the incident to the police sought the help of the Philippine Emabassy to get back home.
iv) The American businessman emails the team back in CDO that he is immediately terminating his affiliation with the company in the Philippines. The team, in desperation, emails their existing clients that the CEO has reneged on his position and claims the company is still in operation and asks them to remit payments directly to them.
v) The CEO files for RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) with the US courts and alleges that some members of the CDO team are terrorists — specifically the Filipina and her dad along with the finance guy.
The best way to really get the meat of the story is to read this document (PDF) about what really happened from both sides. I can partly relate to this because at one time in my career, I was in a similar homeshoring activity.
Though we can’t really say who’s telling the truth about what, I always tend to side with the aggrieved party — it’s the one who is affected the worst that’s usually the victim.
First ever “Blogger” job posted on local job search service. This one has been posted at JobStreet since February 21:
Requirements:
With considerable experience in blogging and knowledge of html and SEO
Superb English communication skills
Well-versed with the use of PC, Internet Explorer and Mozilla
Pro active and a quick study
Willing to relocate to Cagayan de Oro City
* Please forward resume (in Microsoft Word version) with salary requirements and at least 2 writing samples. Indicate in ‘subject’ the position applied for and send to jobs@harvestseo.com.
From a Cagayan de Oro based SEO company called SEO Harvest:
SEO Harvest is an internet services company specializing in web and content development, link building and search engine optimization. We have phones ringing both in Hollywood, Florida and Cagayan de Oro City.
Our reason for living: Drive on-target traffic to websites and build a compelling campaign for businesses to achieve their online marketing goals.
The influx of web design and development, content development, link building, and other SEO-related projects in Harvest SEO got us searching for smart, ballsy men and women who are keen on a challenging career in IT.
