BI: 34 fake business travelers banned from going to Thailand

Some 34 prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were barred from going to Thailand after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) found out they were only posing as business travelers. The passengers were prevented from boarding a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Bangkok after intense questioning by immigration officers forced them to confess that they were OFWs disguised as business travelers, the BI said Wednesday. “They were offloaded for not having the required clearances and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)," said Lina Andaman Pelia, BI airport operations division’s acting chief. Marlene Pedrealba, head of BI’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), said the passengers admitted that they were going to work in Bangkok. “In fact, many of them are former overseas Filipino workers who had worked in Dubai," she said. The passengers were allegedly traveling on a business visa that was provided by a company in Dubai that was supposed to process their work permits in Thailand. BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. commended the BI’s TCEU members for their vigilance. He also asked them to be more careful in looking for similar passengers departing in large groups. The BI refused to divulge the names of passengers as the anti-human trafficking law prohibits the public disclosure of both the traffickers and their victims. Initial investigation revealed that the 34 prospective OFWs were going to work for Super Giant Touring Carnival owned by Apirom Properties Co. Ltd., an affiliate of Dubai-based Big Fun World Co. – JE, GMA News