TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. The Bureau of Immigration lauds on Wednesday (Aug. 16, 2023) the continuous implementation of stringent border measures at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which led to the arrest of an alleged trafficker. The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) successfully conducted the interception in an attempt to traffic five female victims last July 30. (Photo courtesy of IACAT)
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday lauded the arrest of an alleged illegal recruiter, who previously went viral for her immigration complaints, following her failed attempt to traffic five female victims.
In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said illegal recruiters nowadays take advantage of digital platforms to victimize aspiring overseas workers and even taint the government's safety measures.
“These human traffickers use social media as their playground, where they blatantly recruit victims and even have the audacity to air complaints about procedures protecting Filipinos,” he said.
Tansingco pertained to a suspect who previously went viral online using her "Bulok na sistema ng gobyerno (rotten system of the government)" immigration offloading story last May 10.
He then recognized the stringent measures of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) which led to her interception at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on July 30.
“We thank the IACAT for swiftly acting on this case and ensuring that justice is served,” he added.
The BI disclosed that the recruiter misrepresented herself as a sponsor to facilitate the travel of five victims guised as tourists bound for Malaysia and Singapore.
Secondary inspections, however, revealed that the five females accompanied by the alleged trafficker were recruited to work abroad as "massage therapists, entertainer, tutor and caregiver," according to BI.
In a separate statement, the IACAT earlier identified the suspect as "De Leon" who allegedly instructed four of the victims to claim she was their sponsor-employer and another one as her relative.
"The five passengers eventually revealed that they only met De Leon on that day in a fast-food restaurant in NAIA Terminal III. A certain “Tiffany” allegedly offered them jobs in Malaysia, but they instead met De Leon on that day who provided them their fake employment documents, which they presented to the immigration officers," the IACAT said.
Prior to her July 30 interception, the IACAT said she was flagged for departure on four different dates in April due to discrepancies in her declarations and documents as a tourist traveler.
"In those several attempts to depart, she declared different employers. In the inquiries by the Bureau of Immigration with her previously declared employers, one stated that she is not connected wiyh them while the other did not respond," it added.
The arrested recruiter is facing charges of violation of "Qualified Trafficking in Persons under Section 6 (c) of Republic Act 9208, as amended, Illegal Recruitment committed by a syndicate and in large scale under Republic Act No. 8042, as amended, and Estafa under Art. 315, par. 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code," according to BI. (PNA)
