A female illegal recruitment victim was intercepted by immigration personnel last November 6 after pretending to be a ‘pasabuy’ seller.
The victim, 36, attempted to depart for Hong Kong via a Philippine Airlines flight, stating that she is traveling to shop for her ‘ukay-ukay’ and ‘pasabuy’ business. She claimed to be working in a local apparel company and presented a certificate of employment, purportedly issued by her workplace.
However, immigration officers reported noting numerous inconsistencies in her travel, hence she was flagged for secondary inspection. During inspection, she admitted that her travel documents were just sent to her via Facebook Messenger, and that she presented fake work documents.
Her passport was found to have a Malta employment visa, despite her initial claim that she is departing for tourism purposes. She later said that she was offered to work illegally as a caregiver in Malta through a job hunting website.
Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco warned travelers not to accept online offers to work abroad without going through the legal process.
He highlighted numerous repatriations of overseas workers who met difficulties abroad, with many of them not receiving the promised salaries.
Illegal recruitment victim bound to Europe intercepted
The victim was immediately turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance in filing cases against her recruiter.
Meanwhile, a human trafficking victim instantly admitted that she was illegally recruited upon immigration secondary inspection.
According to members of the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), the victim, Nina, was referred for secondary inspection for her numerous inconsistencies during the primary inspection. She initially claimed to be bound for Hong Kong and Macau last November 3 for a four-day tour.
Upon approaching the secondary inspection officer, Nina immediately blurted out that she did not want to push through with her flight anymore. She admitted that she was bound to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where she was recruited as a household service worker (HSW).
She stated that a Filipina recruited whom she met on Facebook and was offered a monthly salary of Php 30,000.
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