IMMIGRATION personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport recently barred three suspected human trafficking victims from leaving or Dubai and Greece.
BI Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina said the three were intercepted before they could board their flights out of the country.
“One of the victims was bound for Dubai, while the two others were destined for Greece, all of them showing intention to work illegally as undocumented workers,” Medina said in a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente.
Medina said the three were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation.
BI Traffic Control and Enforcement head Timotea Barizo said the Dubai-bound passenger was prevented from leaving last July 25 after an immigration officer noticed that her Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) was not cleared and validated by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration desk at the NAIA.
Barizo said upon verification, they found out that the OEC was issued to someone else and not to the passenger.
“She admitted that her trip was processed by her handlers and that her documents were only given to her when she arrived at the airport,” Barizo said.
The two passengers bound for Greece intercepted last August 2 also presented fraudulent travel documents, including fake OEC and local employment certificates.
Barizo said they also admitted their documents were given to them only when they arrived at the airport.
“They also said they were recruited to work in Athens by their handlers to whom they each paid P95,000 in return for facilitating their trip and processing their documents,” Barizo said.
