SENATE deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday exposed a new modus operandi of corrupt Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials who allegedly facilitate the seamless departure of unsuspecting overseas Filipino workers who later end up as crypto scammers in Myanmar.
Hontiveros bared the new modus operandi during a hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, which she chairs.
Hontiveros presented overseas Filipino worker alias “Paulo,” who was recruited for a telemarketing job in Mae Sot, Thailand.
Paulo said during the hearing that his recruiter, whom he identified as a certain Laisa Magallanes, informed him that a female “escort” will facilitate his departure from the country to Thailand with the assistance of individuals who allegedly have connections with BI officers at the airport.
He said he and the escort communicated through mobile phone.
Paulo said his passport was stamped with an “official exit stamp” even if he did not pass through the BI counter at the airport. He said he was told that P30,000 will be deducted from his salary for the service.
From there, he was allegedly given a fake identification card issued to workers of WHSmith, a store inside the NAIA Terminal 3, so he can disguise as a store employee.
Paulo said he was informed by the escort, whom he has yet to meet in person, that he will leave the country as an employee of the airport, and not as a tourist or OFW.
Sensing trouble, Paulo said he backed out of the job offer which earned the ire of his escort. He was then directed to meet the escort’s assistant at a coffee shop outside of the airport where his passport will be returned.
“Pagdating ko sa Bonjour (coffee shop) ay sinulatan nila ang passport ko na void. Doon ko lang napansin na may tatak na ang passport ko na tila galing sa immigration pero di naman talaga ako dumaan ng immigration (When I arrived at the coffee shop, they wrote ‘void’ on my passport. And it was only then that I noticed that my passport had already been stamped with what looked like an immigration stamp but I did not really pass through immigration),” he said.
