The Bureau of Immigration reported that recruitment and trafficking of underage or minors to work as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) persist with some syndicates falsifying birth records.
In a statement, Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said that syndicates still continue with their recruitment of minors and faking documents to facilitate their illegal deployment abroad.
The Bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) were able to apprehend two minors bound for the Middle East at the Ninoy Aquino International airport last month.
The first one was ‘Sari’ who was initially bound for Doha, Qatar. Her documents showed that she’s already 27 years old but she later on admitted that she’s only 21.
‘Sari’ said that her employer will withhold her salary for the first three months in exchange for her travel documents.
Another victim identified as ‘Ria’ was bound for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Her documents say she’s 26 years old but in reality, she was only 19.
“Do not allow these syndicates to entice you to agree to these illegal methods because our officers at the airport are adept in spotting OFWs who are apparently underage and thus are ineligible for overseas job deployment,” Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said in a statement.
