BI agents intercept 16 OFWs posing as tourists

by Faye Orellana, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Aug 12, 2019

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 16 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) trying to sneak out of the country as tourists have been nabbed by Immigration agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Immigration port operations division chief Grifton Medina said on Monday that the 16 undocumented OFWs were intecepted last August 7 as they all tried to fly out of the country as illegally recruited workers.

The 16 individuals were nabbed in two batches. The first batch of 12 was bound for Taipei, and another group of four was bound for Hong Kong.

In a report provided by Anthony Lopez, chief of Naia Terminal 3 travel control and enforcement unit, the 12 victims confessed that their final destination was the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile the remaining four victims said that they were on their way to Hong Kong to process their Chinese visas where they were allegedly promised jobs by a Filipino-Chinese businessman.

Because of the substantial number of victims of illegal recruiters and human trafficking, Immigration Chief Jaime Morente reminded OFWs against these said individuals.

“These syndicates just won’t stop. Many still attempt to leave in the guise of being tourists, some in fake group tours,” Medina said.

“We wish to warn our kababayan about this modus, do not fall for the sweet-talk of these illegal recruiters. They only want to profit at your expense,” he warned.

All 16 victims have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for proper investigation. /je