DOJ orders probe on alleged human trafficking at Clark airport

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered an investigation of 15 officers of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) who were recalled for alleged involvement in human trafficking operations at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga.

Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor, head of the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking, said the department has created a special panel composed of state prosecutors, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and BI officers to determine if the BI personnel from the DMIA were part of a syndicate that had victimized several overseas Filipino workers.

In a press conference yesterday morning, Blancaflor said all 15, including a supervisor, were relieved from their posts in DMIA and recalled back to the BI main office in Intramuros, Manila.

Their identities, however, were withheld due to a “confidentiality rule in handling of human trafficking cases.”

The DOJ official said a skeletal force has been deployed in DMIA to temporarily take the place of the recalled BI officers.

Blancaflor said the investigation would look into allegations that the 15 BI operatives were involved in operations of a human trafficking syndicate that illegally sends domestic helpers and prostitutes to Malaysia.

He said they allegedly served as escorts of passengers of the syndicate at the airport.

The syndicate, according to the official, is headed by a Singaporean national identified as Alfred Lim.

The involvement of the BI personnel was exposed by a BI agent after two overseas Filipino women were rescued from an abusive Malaysian employer.

After BI officer Rachel Ong was arrested late last year, she confessed and tagged other colleagues in the operation.

Ong told authorities that the other BI officers have been escorting passengers bound for Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, and that her superiors have been involved in the human trafficking operations at the DMIA since 2006.

Ong said that human trafficking is a very profitable undertaking, and she used to earn P3,000 to P5,000 per Filipino worker illegally leaving DMIA.

She said she was escorting at least 10 workers on a normal day of operation.

Susan Ople, director of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute (BFOPCT), disclosed that the discovery of the “escort service” at the DMIA could just be the “tip of a humongous iceberg.”

“The confession of Rachel Ong jibes with the testimonies and anecdotes of trafficked victims under the care of the Blas F. Ople Center. This is a multi-million racket that has been going on for years. Credit must be given to the trafficked victims who bravely filed charges against Ong. The Ople Center calls on the other victims to step forward so that the syndicated escort service involving airport and immigration officials and staff can be completely unmasked and eradicated.”

The Ople Center is a nonprofit organization that handles labor and migration concerns and develops programs to empower the OFW and his/her family. Named after the late senator and labor and foreign secretary Blas F. Ople, the Center is geared towards continuing his legacy of public service.

“Mary” and “Vicky” were recruited from their hometown in Batangas and sent to Kuala Lumpur to work as household help. According to the victims, they were escorted through the DMIA and in Kuala Lumpur worked as domestic helpers for a certain Alfred Lim.

But according to them, Lim started to scold and beat them when they committed the slightest mistake. Their worse fears were realized when Lim allegedly sold them to a brothel.

Fortunately, before they were transferred to the sex den, the victims managed to escape and went straight to the Philippine embassy.

Lim had accomplices in the Philippines who were paid for every individual that they could send to Malaysia. Once they reached their destinations, some of the recruits were brought to prostitution dens while others were made to work long, unbearable hours as domestic helpers.   – With Evelyn Macairan