By Recto Mercene, Business Mirror, 6 Feb 2020
Seven women allegedly attempting to leave the country using bogus travel documents were nabbed by immigration authorities, while they were about to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Dubai last Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina said the passengers were barred from leaving after immigration officers found the documents they presented are bogus.
“Those syndicates behind these trafficked women must know there is no letup in our anti-trafficking campaign despite the coronavirus [2019-nCoV] outbreak. Our departure areas remain off limits to human traffickers and their victims,” he said.
The virus outbreak has prompted BI to implement stricter screening procedures for arriving and departing travelers as part of measures to combat the spread of the virus.
Ma. Timotea Barizo, BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit chief, the intercepted passengers were caught in possession of fake Philippine Overseas Employment Administration clearances.
Barizo said the passengers’ validation forms, purportedly showing that their papers were checked and cleared by Labor Assistance Center personnel at the airport, were also found to be counterfeits.
“They admitted during interview that the bogus documents were given to them by their handlers, and they were recruited via Facebook to work as domestic helpers in the United Arab Emirates,” Barizo added.
The women were eventually turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation.
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
