3 fake BFAR employees barred from leaving Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) prevented three women, who posed as Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) personnel, from leaving for Jeju Island in South Korea last July 9.

In a statement yesterday, the BI’s travel and control enforcement unit said the three women misrepresented themselves as government employees during a preliminary immigration inspection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

The women were reportedly about to board a Scoot airlines flight that would take them to Jeju Island.

They were able to present travel authority papers as BFAR employees but later admitted that they bought the documents from a stall in Quiapo, Manila, the BI said.

A travel authority for government employees is a document that allows them to travel on official business or for personal reasons.

The BI noted that the three women gave inconsistent statements about their work, prompting officers to verify their documents.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco believes that the three women were recruited to illegally work in South Korea.

“During the interview, they admitted that they paid P150,000 to a contact they met through Facebook to process their documents,” said Tansingco.

“One of them mentioned talking to several agents for assistance,” he added.

All three travelers were found to be possible victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment. Their case was referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.