7 human trafficking victims intercepted at NAIA
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 05:45:19 +0000
IMMIGRATION officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted seven alleged human trafficking victims who were illegally recruited to work in the Middle East and Europe.
Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina disclosed on Friday that the victims were intercepted in two separate incidents at the NAIA 3 amid the upsurge of passengers going in and out of the country for the Halloween break.
“These syndicates are mistaken if they thought they could succeed in bringing their victims out of the country while our immigration officers are very busy servicing thousands of passengers who are vacationing here and abroad during the Undas break. We were prepared for them, hence these interceptions,” Medina said.
Records showed that two of the trafficking victims were intercepted at NAIA’s Terminal 3 last Tuesday as they were about to board a flight to Hongkong enroute to their final destination in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where they were hired as household service workers (HSWs).
Five more victims were intercepted the next day, also at the NAIA 3, before they could board their flight to Kuala umpur, Malaysia where they would stay prior to their illegal deployment as factory workers in Poland.
Ma. Bernadette Catipay, head supervisor of the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) at NAIA 3, said the two Hongkong-bound passengers were caught in possession of fake overseas employment certificates and labor assistance center clearances which they presented to make it appear that they were legitimate overseas contract workers.
The Poland-bound factory workers were allegedly hired by a recruitment agency, which had been suspended by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) for violating its rules and regulations.
He stressed that Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has ordered all his port personnel to double their vigilance amid intelligence reports that human trafficking syndicates would take advantage of the holidays to send their victims abroad.
“As usual, the victims were either caught with spurious documents or were hired by illegal recruiters,” said Morente.
All seven passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation and assistance in filing appropriate charges against their recruiters. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL