The Bureau of Immigration has issued a stern warning to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to exercise utmost caution when seeking employment opportunities abroad.
This, after two trafficking victims were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.
In a statement released on Saturday, the BI revealed that the victims, both females aged 42 and 30, were subjected to secondary inspection after presenting fraudulent work documents.
According to a report from the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit, the two victims were instructed by a local manning agency to pose as outbound seafarers, despite not having legitimate work arrangements.
Investigations also showed that one of the victims confessed to paying P120,000 to a recruitment agency through a money transfer, which subsequently directed them to a local manning agency for documentation. Promised jobs as cleaners and household service workers, they were provided with counterfeit transit visas and seaman’s books to deceive immigration authorities.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco expressed deep concern over such exploitative practices and promptly forwarded the case to the Department of Migrant Workers, urging them to take appropriate action, including suspending and canceling the licenses of agencies involved in these unethical acts.
“We have forwarded this case to the Department of Migrant Workers, who in the past have suspended and cancelled licenses of agencies doing such unscrupulous acts,” Tansingco remarked.
“The victims’ desire to work abroad is being taken advantage of by these traffickers,” he added.
Following the interception, the victims received assistance from the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to address their situation and provide the necessary support.
