OFW alleges BI personnel received P50,000 for her trafficking to Syria

An overseas Filipino worker has alleged that personnel from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) were involved in her trafficking to Syria and even received P50,000 to ensure her smooth, albeit illegal, entry into the Middle Eastern state.

On Tuesday, Senator Risa Hontiveros shared with reporters a video testimony of Alice, not her real name, who was promised work in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, only to find out during her layover in Malaysia that she was bound for Syria.

Hontiveros said Alice was even covering herself with a blanket as she gave the interview to her staff on March 14, in fear of getting caught by her employer.

According to Alice, her recruiter, which she identified as Ana, had paid BI personnel P50,000 to meet her and other trafficked women at the counter number 1 immigration desk in the airport.

“Naririnig ko … ‘Magbayad muna si Ana sa immigration bago palusutin ang mga tao ninyo.’ … [Ang bayad] bawat isa ay P50,000," she said.

("I heard... 'Ana would have to pay immigration first before allowing entry of your workers. [The payment] is P50,000 per person.'")

"Iba pa sasalubong sa gate, iba pa yung line number 1 … babae 'yung nasa counter 1. Iba sumalubong sa 'kin pagkatapos ko sa gate, counter 1, and then hanggang makarating ng eroplano, meron din,” she added.

("One person would meet me up at the gate, and a different one on line number 1. Different persons met me after I passed through the gate, counter 1, until I boarded the airplane.")

Alice even recounted that her recruiter and immigration personnel would meet at Rizal Park in Manila to settle the P50,000 payment.

Upon arrival in Syria, Alice alleged she and the other workers were met by personnel from their recruitment agency and "locked" them up. Their cellphones were even taken away from them, she added.

Twelve days later, Alice said she was bought for US$1,000 by her Syrian employer, who had physically abused her. She added that she was even held down by the bodyguards of her employer, whom she said was a relative of the Syrian president.

"Five months ko dito nakaranas ako ng pananakit kasi nagpaalam ako na uuwi ako kaya nagalit sila. Sinaktan ako saka 'yung mga pangalawa, 2020, sinaktan ulit ako dahil nabasa nila mga email ko, kinuha nila kasi tumatawag embassy sa kanila na humihingi ako ng tulong," she said.

("In my five months here, I experienced physical abuse because I asked them to let me go back to the Philippines, so they got angry. I was beaten, and for the second instance, in 2020, I was beaten again when they saw my emails. The embassy was calling them because I already asked for help.")

"Hinahawakan, tinatadyakan, sampal, sabunot, kaladlad.. ng bodyguard," she added.

("I was held, kicked, slapped, my hair was pulled, dragged by the bodyguard.")

Alice added that she only received half of her promised salary of $400.

Hontiveros said what happened to Alice is tantamount to "modern-day slavery." She even said that Alice would work from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day.

"Hindi ito employment, ito ay slavery. One thousand US dollars, so kung may P50,000 na ibinayad sa ating sariling BI, may US$1,000 dollars, katumbas ng P50,000 pesos ulit na binayad ng amo para ibili sila na parang alipin," she said.

("This is not employment, this is slavery. One thousand US dollars. So if they paid BI P50,000, the $1,000 paid to the recruiter to buy these women is also equivalent to P50,000.")

Hontiveros said she would officially request the BI to provide her office with the names of the immigration officers who stamped Alice's passport, noting that this would constitute a violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

“Malaki-laki ang penalty dito at non-bailable. This is a case of large-scale trafficking, and trafficking in syndicate. Life imprisonment ang parusa dito,” the senator added.

("The penalty for this is quite huge and non-bailable. This is a case of large-scale trafficking, and trafficking in syndicate. The punishment for this is life imprisonment.")

The senator added that her office has two other testimonies of trafficked women that they will show in an upcoming Senate hearing. These women, she said, never consented to being brought to Syria and were even abused.

"Samu’t saring klase na ang abuso ang naranasan nila. Tapos mukhang sangkot pa ang sarili nating opisyal sa pagpapahamak sa kanila. Our immigration officers seem to be sending our women into slavery,” Hontiveros said.

("The women suffered different kinds of abuse. And it appears that our own officials are even involved. Our immigration officers seem to be sending our women into slavery.")

“I am calling the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Justice to attend to this matter immediately. In the middle of a global pandemic, our kababayans (fellow Filipinos) are stuck in a war-torn country," she added.

In response, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente expressed support to the Senate investigation into trafficked women.

"This investigation is another step towards eradicating human trafficking from our country by finding its root cause, as well as cutting down any growth that may have emerged from this societal weed," he said.

Morente vowed to bring to justice immigration officials who are involved in trafficking of Filipino workers.

"The Bureau has been constantly fighting the battle against trafficking for more than a decade, when we initially implemented strict departure formalities for Filipino citizens," he said.

"As proven in the past, we will not hesitate to put to justice any immigration personnel implicated in trafficking schemes," he added.—AOL, GMA News