Justice Delayed, But We Won’t Back Down:

Rose Garden Workers Continue to Fight for Justice 

 Preliminary Hearing Set on August 6 

June 25, 2026

3 min read

Above: Rose Garden worker Dinah Panga boldy challenges caregivers to speak up and fight back outside the San Diego Central Courthouse. "This moment presents the opportune time for us to express our sentiments for us to assert our rights to be treated as human beings." - Dinah Panga

SAN DIEGO — Justice for Rose Garden workers remains elusive, but the fight for accountability continues. As the Rose Garden workers, community members, and advocates with the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) rally against labor trafficking and wage theft, the case against the administrators of Rose Garden Care Facility is moving forward. On June 25, 2026, San Diego Deputy District Attorney David C.K. Vallero of the Workplace Justice Unit announced that a preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 6, 2026. 

According to Vallero, the hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence for the case against Rose Garden Care facility administrators to proceed to trial. During the hearing, victims and witnesses may be called to testify about their experiences and provide evidence in support of the case. 

Rose Garden administrators Rolando “Bobby” Solancho Corpuz and Maria Elsabel Sio Corpuz have been charged with human trafficking and wage theft for exploiting immigrant workers and forcing them to work long hours without proper wages and basic protections under California law. The Investigation revealed that workers have been forced to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while receiving wages as little as $6.25 per hour. In a recent audit performed by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), one victim from Rose Garden is owed over $175,000 in stolen wages. 

The Rose Garden case was brought to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office through a referral made by the Pilipino Workers Center to the Department of Labor Standards and Enforcement. 

“PWC has been assisting the DA’s office in helping them identify other workers who have worked at Rose Garden in the past or present and asking them if they’re willing to give their testimony about the exploitation and abuses that they experienced with the administrators. We have been instrumental in connecting the workers and the DA’s office as they are building the case,” said Clytie Causing, Director of Community Action, Pilipino Workers Center (PWC). 

Following the public announcement of charges by San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan in April, and as legal proceedings move forward, Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) strategically held community rallies outside the San Diego Central Courthouse in support of the Rose Garden workers, on the same day as the scheduled hearings dated May 14, 2026, and June 25, 2026.

Joining the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) at the community action on June 25 were Rose Garden workers, caregivers, labor unions, and San Diego community members. Rose Garden worker, Dinah Panga, rallied and energized the crowd, encouraging fellow caregivers to use their voices in support of the campaign for justice and accountability. “Let’s unite our efforts to ensure that this protest is a tangible action securing the compensation and recognition that we rightfully deserve for our services!” said Panga. 

Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) encourages workers who have information regarding the Rose Garden case, as well as any worker who may have experienced injustice, abuse, and/or exploitation from other employers, to come forward, emphasizing that their identities will be protected. 

“Wage theft is a crime. Regardless of your immigration status, you have a right to proper wages,” said Clytie Causing. “When you file a case with DIR, it is not reported to any other agency, and that information is confidential.” 

Rose Garden worker Dinah Panga ended the solidarity picket with a powerful call to action, speaking in her native language, Tagalog: “Kapag may katwiran at karapatan, ipaglaban! Huwag matakot. Isigaw ang saloobin laban sa mapaglinlang, mapang-api, at magnanakaw ng sahod na ating pinagtrabahuhan. Mabuhay tayong manggagawa” (If there is justice and we have rights, we must fight for them! Do not be afraid. Speak out against those who are deceitful, oppressive, and steal the wages we have worked for. Long live the workers.) 

Link to SD County DA's Office Official Press Release: https://danewscenter.com/news/exploited-and-underpaid-two-charged-for-trafficking-elder-care-workers-in-around-the-clock-labor-scheme/