The Bureau of Immigration (BI) issued a stern warning to the public following the interception of two Filipinas involved in a trafficking scheme, urging vigilance against deceptive overseas job offers.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado issued the warning in line with President Ferdinand Marcos’ directive to intensify the fight against human trafficking, after learning about the interception of two Filipino women at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 last June 18.
The BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) reported that two women, aged 32 and 48, were stopped from boarding a Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore after discrepancies were noted during the initial inspection.
Reports stated that the pair identified themselves as close friends and claimed they were traveling to Singapore for tourism.
“Both were intercepted early during primary inspection due to their inability to answer basic travel questions, conflicting travel itineraries, and inconsistent statements, which led to their referral for secondary inspection,” said the reports.
Upon further questioning, the two women revealed that Albania, not Singapore, was their actual destination. They admitted they were recruited to work there as household service workers, with a promised monthly salary of €500 or roughly P38,000.
They further confessed that they were contacted by a recruiter through a Facebook job posting, and all travel and employment documents were coordinated via WhatsApp.
“We are witnessing yet another case of online illegal recruitment, a deceptive tactic where workers are deceived by generous offers, but often end up working under exploitative conditions,” said Viado.
“As these fraudulent schemes persist, our efforts to combat them must remain equally relentless,” he added. “We strongly urge Filipinos to remain cautious and consult official government agencies before accepting any overseas job offers.”
The pair was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and the filing of appropriate charges against their recruiter.
