By Lane Afable, News Editor
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) rescued two female passengers suspected of being recruited for prostitution in Malaysia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 recently.
The victims, aged 33 and 23, were stopped by primary inspection officers and members of the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) before boarding a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Initial investigation showed that the two women initially claimed to be tourists, but later admitted they were promised jobs at a KTV bar in Malaysia through a recruiter referred by one of their companions.
According to the victims, they communicated with the alleged recruiter only through an intermediary and had no employment contracts or valid work visas. One of the passengers also admitted paying PHP10,000 supposedly for travel-related expenses.
Viado commended immigration officers for detecting indicators of possible trafficking and illegal recruitment.
“Our immigration frontliners remain vigilant against schemes that exploit Filipinos under the guise of overseas employment,” said Viado. “We will continue working closely with partner agencies to stop trafficking syndicates and protect vulnerable passengers from abuse and exploitation abroad.”
The BI said the victims were later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and case build-up against the individuals involved in their recruitment.
The Bureau reiterated its warning to aspiring overseas workers to transact only with licensed recruitment agencies and to verify overseas job offers with the appropriate government agencies before traveling.
