Immigration officers intercepted six suspected human trafficking victims bound for the United Arab Emirates from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the six passengers, all women, were intercepted at the immigration departure area of NAIA Terminal 3 by the BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) for attempting to board an Emirates flight to Dubai.
BI intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan said the UAE visas pasted on their passports were all counterfeit.
“During primary inspection, they claimed that they were balik-manggagawa, or overseas Filipino workers merely returning to their old employers. They alleged to have been directly hired as domestic household workers, but were unable to show any proof of such claim,” the bureau said.
The documents were submitted to the BI’s forensic document laboratory, which later confirmed the visas were spurious.
The six were later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and filing of charges against their recruiters.
The incident prompted Morente to again warn members of human trafficking syndicates.
“The BI will not allow you to take advantage of the pandemic to prey on our poor countrymen who are lured to become victims of their racket because of poverty,” Morente said.
