HUMAN trafficking syndicates have adopted a new scheme to smuggle their victims out of the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the syndicates now use falsified government identification cards and forged leave forms and travel permits to hoodwink immigration inspectors to allow them to board their flights.
Tansingco issued the warning following the recent interception of three fake government employees and a Russia-bound passenger with fake documents.
Tansingco said the three women were intercepted by immigration officers at the Clark International Airport on March 14 while waiting for their flight to Singapore using fake government company identification cards, leave forms, and travel authorities.
The three presented documents showing that they worked as administrative aide, agriculturist and a bookkeeper of a local government unit.
“The secondary inspector initially noticed that their travel documents appeared dubious. When asked about basic questions pertinent to their jobs as government employees, the passengers could not answer,” Tansingco said.
Tansingco said they later confessed verbally and in writing that the real purpose of their travel is to seek employment in Singapore and Dubai.
“The passengers went to great lengths to evade immigration protocols. We understand the need to look for greener pastures abroad, but there is a legal and low-risk way to do it. We kindly remind the public that the set of requirements we impose is in place to ensure our safety even when we are overseas,” the BI chief said.
Meanwhile, immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 deferred the departure of a first-time passenger bound for Russia but was holding overseas employment documents as a Balik Manggagawa last March 27.
Tansingco said this was after immigration inspectors saw irregularities in the documents such as the victim’s overseas employment certificate having no record with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Likewise, her contract was not verified by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Russia or by the Department of Migrant Workers.
According to Tansingco, the victim was in contact with a certain Rose whom she met in Facebook and to whom she paid P215,000 in processing fees.
“The passenger then admitted that she has no personal knowledge on the appropriate documents and processes that she has to undergo to depart as an OFW,” Tansingco said.
The victim was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.
In a related development, Tansingco said two Filipino women were repatriated from Thailand on March 28 after experiencing physical abuse and sexual assault.
He said the two left the country in the last quarter of 2022 and arrived in Thailand in hopes of gaining employment as customer service representatives.
“One of them worked as a love scammer who sent nude photos of other women online. Eventually, they were transported to work in online casinos and online betting hubs where they received no proper food and compensation from their employers,” said Tansingco, adding the two saw the job offering in a Facebook post.
With these cases, the official reminded the public of the dangers of trusting people offering works abroad online and offline.
“We could see that as the world goes digital, human trafficking patterns have shifted as well. The bureau always strives to bridge the information gap between aspiring OFWs and the government, but we urge the public to be vigilant. Human trafficking is real and it is happening now,” he added.
