THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday said 14 suspected trafficking victims were rescued at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 and Clark International Airport (CIA) Terminal 2 while attempting to leave the country.
In a statement, the BI said the victims, who were recruited to work in Russia, were rescued last August 8. Two of their suspected recruiters were arrested.
Among the rescued victims were six men, in their early 40s to 50s, who attempted to travel abroad via a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong.
The victims initially claimed to be on a vacation with former colleagues from the military, but gave conflicting statements on the details of their trip.
They later admitted that they were bound for Russia where they were recruited to work and offered a US$3,000 monthly salary.
Meanwhile, the other eight victims were rescued in NAIA after attempting to depart on board a Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore.
The victims, composed of six males and two females in their 30s to 50s, also initially claimed to be on a business trip, but later admitted to be heading to Russia where they were offered a high-paying jobs, as well as Russian citizenship.
The eight victims admitted that that their facilitators, a male and a female, were also traveling on the same flight with them. They insisted that the trip was merely for business purposes.
All 14 victims and the two suspected facilitators were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and filing of charges against the recruiters.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado has warned aspiring overseas workers anew not to fall prey illegal recruitment schemes.
‘These recruiters will promise you high salaries and even citizenship, but victims often fall into distressing situations,’ said Viado. ‘Protect yourselves from these predators. They recruit Filipinos solely for their own gain, but will not hesitate to put your lives and safety at risk once you are in a foreign country,’ he warned.