THE Bureau of Immigration yesterday reiterated its warning to potential overseas Filipino workers to apply with accredited recruitment agencies as the bureau intercepts would-be-workers lured by human traffickers and currency scammers.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said despite their efforts, overseas illegal online gaming scam recruitment have shown no sign of stopping.
Proof of this, Tansingco said, is shown by the recent apprehension of migrant workers leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Tansingco said last March 7, immigration officers at the NAIA Terminal 1 prevented two Africa-bound Filipino women who were suspected human trafficking victims from leaving the country as they were about to board their flight to Kuala Lumpur.
Upon interrogation, they admitted that they were merely transiting in Malaysia and that their final destination is the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa.
Tansingco said the two alleged they were hired to work as household workers by a Filipina who works as a “mayordoma” for a rich couple in Congo.
They were stopped from boarding their flight because they did not have the required overseas employment permit from the government.
“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 said.
The following day, immigration officers at NAIA Terminal 3 also stopped a female passenger from boarding her flight to Singapore after she admitted that she was recruited to work for an offshore gaming firm in Thailand by someone on Facebook promising her a monthly salary of $1,000.
On March 9, five Bangkok-bound passengers were barred from leaving the country after immigration officers noticed inconsistencies in their statements, including basic details about their travel and relationship with each other.
The five initially claimed they were tourists traveling for a vacation abroad.
Tansingco said these interceptions showed that human traffickers and online game scammers are hard at work despite the concerted efforts of the authorities.
“Many of these passengers disguised as tourists are usually bound for Thailand while others are destined for Cambodia or Myanmar. These recruitment scams shows no sign of stopping,” he said.
“This explains why our officers at the airport are doubly strict in allowing the departure of Filipino tourists with doubtful travel purpose. We are duty-bound to protect our citizens from being victimized by these trafficking syndicates,” he added.
Earlier, the BI received flak after freelance writer Cham Tanteras went viral on social media last week after disclosing that she failed to catch her flight to Israel in December last year due to a lengthy interview at the immigration counter.
Tanteras said the immigration officer even asked her to show her college yearbook.
