Four human trafficking victims were rescued at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay City, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Friday.
The victims, aged 28, 31, 35, and 43, were intercepted by members of the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) during an operation on January 22.
Initially claiming to be officemates traveling to Hong Kong for vacation, the group raised suspicions due to inconsistencies in their statements. This prompted immigration officers to conduct a secondary inspection, during which the victims confessed they were not officemates. They revealed that a travel agent had provided them with fraudulent documents to pose as legitimate tourists.
“We suspect that they are being sent to work as entertainers abroad,” BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado stated. “They admitted paying P30,000 to their travel agency, which provided fraudulent stories and documents for them.”
Further investigation revealed that three of the victims had previously worked illegally as entertainers abroad. One victim disclosed that they had traveled illegally via a small boat in the Southern region of the Philippines to evade immigration inspections and secure work overseas.
“Tourist workers are tricked by their recruiters to present fraudulent documents or travel via illegal means just to be exploited abroad,” Viado said.
The victims have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and assistance.