(File photo)
MANILA – Two women suspected to be victims of human trafficking were recently barred by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from leaving the country.
In a statement Thursday, Commissioner Norman Tansingco reported that the passengers were intercepted after being found to have presented dubious travel documents and lied about their personal information during a secondary inspection early this month.
The names of the passengers were withheld due to a provision in the anti-trafficking law prohibiting the public disclosure of names of human trafficking victims.
According to the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit, the first passenger was stopped last Feb. 4 before she could board an Emirates flight to Saudi Arabia for lying about her real age.
She allegedly gave inconsistent answers about her age when interviewed and upon verification, it was confirmed that she was only 24 years old contrary to her documents showing that she is 29 years old.
Meanwhile, the other victim was intercepted on Feb. 5 before she was about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Singapore and was found to be in possession of a spurious overseas employment certificate (OEC).
She admitted during the interview that she was hired by a fixer who processed her documents in exchange for PHP85,000, to work as a household service worker.
Both women were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance in the filing of appropriate cases against their recruiters. (PNA)
