BUREAU of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have prevented seven illegally recruited Filipinos from boarding their flights while disguised as tourists.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the suspected recruiter and her victims tried to depart on board a Philippine Airlines flight to Bangkok, Thailand.
The victims initially claimed to be a group going overseas for a vacation. However, a careful scrutiny of their documents revealed inconsistencies, prompting the Immigration officer to remand them to secondary inspection.
During further investigation, the victims admitted to be bound for Laos where they were purportedly promised work as customer service representatives. They admitted they are set to fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand before traveling to Laos by boat.
They said they were offered a monthly salary of around P40,000.
The victims said they received the job offer through Facebook and online messaging service Telegram.
They admitted that fake identification cards and other documents were given to them by their escort right outside the airport before their flight.
“The escort claimed to be traveling alone to Thailand when she went through Immigration. We were able to intercept her, and she was positively identified as an accomplice of the recruiter,” the agents said.
The suspected trafficker was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council
Against trafficking for filing of appropriate charges against her.