The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has reiterated its warning against illegal recruiters victimizing unsuspecting overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are forced to pose as tourists, presenting fake overseas employment certificates (OEC) upon departure at the airports.
The warning came after the BI intercepted cases of suspected human trafficking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) with the victims passing themselves off as tourists bound for Singapore.
Upon secondary inspection, the victims were found to be actually headed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they were illegally recruited to work.
It was later discovered that the victims were recruited via social media purportedly to work for a club resort in Dubai.
The BI also noted the recurrence of illegal recruitment victims presenting fake OECs.
An OEC is the basic requirement for departing OFWs issued by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Citing the case of a female passenger who was recruited to work as a household helper in Hong Kong, the victim attempted to depart via a Cebu Pacific Air flight at the Clark International Airport before she was intercepted by Immigration personnel.
Further verifications with DMW officers at the airport confirmed that the document was counterfeit.
“Our system is integrated with the DMW, making it easier for us to detect fake certificates,” BI chief Norman Tansingco said. Vito Barcelo
He said the BI had numerous meetings with the DMW to develop systems to ease the processing of departing OFWs.
“It is the directive of President Marcos to ensure smooth and seamless processing for OFWs. We are in full support of the DMW’s efforts, to protect our workers from exploitation,” he added. Vito Barcelo