Immigration bars 34 OFWs from leaving for Bangkok

MANILA, Philippines -  A total of 34 aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who allegedly posed as business travelers, were recently barred from traveling to Bangkok, Thailand by officers of the Bureau of Immigration.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said that based on the report submitted by their Airport Operations Division acting chief Lina Andaman Pelia, it appeared that the OFWs were offloaded April 7.

The passengers were about to board a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Bangkok, when the BI authorities assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) stopped them. It was during their rigid questioning when they allegedly admitted that they were merely pretending to be business travelers, when in fact they were OFWs about to land jobs in Thailand. They also confessed to have previously worked in Dubai.

“They were offloaded for not having the required clearances and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA),” Pelia said.

Immigration Officer Marlene Pedrealba, who heads the NAIA-BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit added that the passengers reportedly confessed that they were going to work in Bangkok.

Initial investigation showed that the OFWs were going to work for the Super Giant Touring Carnival owned by Apirom Properties Co. Ltd., an affiliate of the Big Fun World company based in Dubai and where many of the passengers had already worked.

The passengers were allegedly traveling on a business visa that was provided by a company in Dubai, that supposedly processed their work permits in Thailand.

The names of the passengers were not released as the anti-human trafficking law prohibits the public disclosure of both the traffickers and their victims.