by Daphne Galvez, Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 15, 2019
MANILA, Philippines — Five Filipino women bound for Malaysia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) disguised as tourists were intercepted at the Clark International Airport, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Wednesday.
The BI said the five women were intercepted in two separate incidents on May 8, before they could board the flights bound for Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Three of the women were supposedly heading to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, to work as nightclub entertainers while the two others were going to work in Lebanon as domestic helpers.
The BI said the three Malaysia-bound women were allegedly recruited through a job offer they received online. They also met a certain “Danilo” in a mall in Quezon City where they paid up to 10,000 for their recruitment.
The women admitted they were offered to work in a pub in Kota Kinabalu and that their documents will be given to them in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the two other women presented fake visas to UAE, the BI said. They admitted to have been offered jobs in Beirut and were instructed not to reveal their true destination.
“Obviously, these women have been victimized by unscrupulous human trafficking syndicates that prey on the poor,” BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said in a statement.
He noted that victims would sometimes being lured into prostitution or be enslaved and given salaries far below industry standards.
“Illegal recruiters will put their victims in a tight spot. The victims, knowing that they entered through illegal means, would be forced to agree to the unfair work conditions given to them and would even be asked to pay via salary deduction hefty sums for their recruitment,” Medina revealed.
Due to the incident, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente alerted BI personnel in ports outside Manila to look out for other trafficking victims who might attempt to leave using the same scheme.
He suspects that “trafficking syndicates may attempt to divert their operations to other international airports due to the numerous interceptions at the Naia (Ninoy Aquino International Airport).”
The five women were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and assistance, the BI said. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
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Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
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