The Bureau of Immigration has prevented nearly 12,000 Filipino workers from leaving the country last year who were allegedly victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
But their number was 70 percent lower compared to those intercepted in 2019.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said immigration officers at the different ports deferred the departure of 11,706 passengers, of whom 9,411 were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The number of passengers whose travel were deferred was 70 percent lower than the 38,522 travelers who were stopped from leaving in 2019.
“Travel restrictions and international flight suspensions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic naturally caused a tremendous drop in the number of Filipinos who traveled abroad in 2020,” Morente said.
He noted that it was only during October that the government started the gradual lifting of travel restrictions, including the ban on non-essential travel by Filipinos.
Nonetheless, Morente said it was evident that the pandemic did not stop human traffickers and illegal recruiters from continuing with their activities.
“Thanks to our vigilant immigration officers at the ports, many of these suspected human trafficking victims were intercepted and rescued before they could leave,” Morente said.
Immigration intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., who supervises the agency’s travel control and enforcement unit, also reported that 295 passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking as possible trafficking victims.
Manahan said the most common reasons for preventing a passenger from leaving were failure to present required documents, the carrying of fraudulent documents and misrepresentation.
Meanwhile, Morente reminded aspiring Filipino workers not to fall prey to illegal recruiters and human traffickers.
“We are worried that once international travel returns to normal, there will again be a rise in the number of victims,” Morente said.
“These illegal recruiters will sweet-talk their victims and take advantage of the hardships that some of our kababayan face to make them agree to below-standard arrangements.”