BI intercepts 2 suspected trafficking victims at NAIA

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has prevented the departure of two women who are said to be victims of human trafficking.

Members of the bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) intercepted the two females at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) before they could board their flights to the Middle East, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement.

One of them was stopped at the NAIA Terminal 3 on May 31 as she was about to board a flight to Doha.

TCEU reported “Sari” (not her real name), who hails from Sultan Kudarat, presented documents showing that she is already 27 years old. But after giving contradictory answers to questions when interviewed, she admitted that she is only 21 years old.

The woman allegedly claimed that her recruiter will withhold her first three months of salary as a household service worker (HSW) in Qatar in exchange for processing her travel documents.

“Ria,” meanwhile, was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 1 on June 1 before she could board a flight to Riyadh.

The woman’s travel documents indicated she is already 26 years old but she later confessed during the interview that she is only 19 years old. The minimum age requirement for Filipino HSWs is 23 years old.

Ria reportedly identified her handler as a certain Norah whom she met at her hometown in Pikit, Cotabato and who promised her a salary of P40,000 to work as an HSW.

“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,” Morente said. 

“These recruiters will just leave you once they sense trouble,” he added.

Both victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance in filing cases against their recruiters, the BI said. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News