2 Africa-bound Filipinas stopped at NAIA

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) stopped from leaving the country two Africa-bound Filipino women suspected of being human trafficking victims.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the women were intercepted at NAIA’s Terminal 1 last March 7 as they were about to board their flight to Kuala Lumpur.

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Tansingco said the passengers later confessed that they were merely transiting in Malaysia as their final destination is the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa.

They alleged they were illegally hired to work as household workers by a Filipina who works as a “mayordoma” for a rich couple in Congo.

Tansingco said the BI was duty-bound to prevent the women from leaving, as the law prohibits Filipino migrant workers from going abroad without the required overseas employment permit from the government.

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“These victims were enticed by promises of big salaries, however by going through these illegal means, they are of higher risk for abuse and exploitation,” the BI Chief stressed.

He warned members of human trafficking syndicates that their trick of sending their victims abroad in the guise of being tourists will not work.

2 Africa-bound Filipinas stopped at NAIA

“Our officers at the airport are proficient in detecting this old scheme.  So it is highly unlikely that they will pass our counters unnoticed,” he added.

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Last week, BI officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted three Lebanon-bound female passengers who attempted to leave in the guise of being tourists.

BI Commissioner Noman Tansingco said the three women were stopped from boarding their flights, after they confessed that they were bound for Lebanon and recruited to work there as domestic helpers.

The BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) reported that the three passengers were intercepted last March 10 and 12 and at the NAIA terminal 3.

One of them was a 26-year-old passenger who was referred for secondary inspection by an immigration officer who doubted her purpose of travel.

When interviewed, she initially claimed that she was traveling to Malaysia as a tourist but the passport she presented showed that she has an Egyptian visa.  She also could not say if she is employed here.

The passenger then admitted that her final destination is Lebanon where she was hired to work with a monthly pay of USUS$400.

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