MANILA, Philippines - Nine Filipinas who claimed to be tourists bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were prevented from leaving by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Tuesday night.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) Migrant Compliance and Monitoring Group, headed by Roland Mansilla and Jun Manahan, invited the nine Filipinos for questioning and found that they were actually going to work as waitresses at a hotel in Malaysia without the necessary Philippine Overseas Employment Agency clearance.
BI Airport Operations Division chief Ferdinand Sampol, in his report to BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, said the nine undocumented workers face the danger of being forced into prostitution.
Libanan created the BI national operations center which operates 24 hours a day and monitors the bureau’s activities in various airports and sub-ports to prevent human trafficking attempts, Sampol said.
The nine were turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation for further questioning.