(File photo)
MANILA – Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers intercepted an alleged illegal recruitment victim who pretended to be an online seller, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Monday.
In a statement Tuesday, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the 36-year-old female victim attempted to depart for Hong Kong via a Philippine Airlines flight, stating that she was traveling to shop for her "ukay-ukay" and "pasabuy" business.
She said she works for a local apparel company and presented a certificate of employment, purportedly issued by her workplace.
However, immigration officers found numerous inconsistencies in her travel records, prompting them to subject her to secondary inspection.
She admitted that her travel documents were just sent to her via Facebook Messenger and that she presented fake work documents.
Her passport was found to have a Malta employment visa despite her initial claim that she was departing for tourism purposes.
The victim said she was offered to work illegally as a caregiver in Malta through a job-hunting website.
On the other hand, Tansingco warned travelers not to accept online offers to work abroad without going through the legal process.
The victim was immediately turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance in filing cases against her recruiter. (PNA)
