Immigration officers offloaded two Middle East-bound women at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after they were established to be underage.
The two OFWs were about to leave for Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
Grifton Medina, port operations chief of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), said the two presented valid passports, visas and overseas employment certificates but their birth dates in the documents were altered to make it appear they meet the 26-year-old requirement for household service worker.
Immigration officers discovered that the real ages of the two are 19 and 20.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the two divulged that their recruiter allegedly held them hostage in a safehouse in Paco, Manila.
The two were taught how to answer questions from Immigration officers, Morente added.
Morente reminded those who plan to work abroad to transact only with legitimate recruiters accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
