BI bares trafficking scheme targeting OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration has uncovered a human trafficking scheme that targets overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with expiring contracts, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said yesterday.

“This modus operandi aims to mislead our immigration officers as the victims do have valid employment permits to a certain country where they had previously worked, but actually their intention is to work somewhere else,” he said.

Tansingco said three OFWs were recently intercepted by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Two women, who were intercepted at NAIA Terminal 3 on Nov. 1, admitted that their valid documents for jobs in Saudi Arabia were just for show since they were recruited to work in Dubai by people they either met through Facebook or referred by friends.

The BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section at the NAIA reported that on Oct. 31, a repatriated OFW from Iraq recounted how she was able to depart as a returning worker to Dubai using her valid overseas employment certificate, but she had no intention of returning to her former employer.

Instead, the OFW said she scouted for other jobs online and she was eventually recruited to work for a beauty salon in Iraq.

However, instead of receiving the $800 monthly salary promised her, she only received a monthly pay of $150 during her brief stint at the salon, which prompted her to eventually seek the assistance of the Philippine embassy in Baghdad.