THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted four Filipino passengers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) who were identified as potential victims of human trafficking after allegedly being recruited for jobs in Russia.
The four were intercepted in separate incidents at Naia Terminal 1 on September 18 and 19 after primary immigration officers referred them for further verification of their declared travel purposes, the BI Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section said.
On Sept. 18, three men, identified as ‘Aldo,’ 30; ‘Nery,’ 41; and ‘Baby,’ 38, were traveling together and declared Thailand as their destination.
During secondary inspection, Aldo allegedly disclosed that Russia was his actual destination and that he had been recruited through a Facebook post to work as a security guard for a promised monthly salary of P70,000.
Nery reportedly said he was recruited by an unidentified individual in Bangkok, while Baby said his trip was sponsored by a person identified as ‘Alexander.’
On Sept. 19, immigration officers intercepted another passenger, identified as ‘King,’ 34, who was traveling to Vietnam aboard Philippine Airlines.
During further verification, King allegedly disclosed that Russia was his intended final destination and that he had been recruited for military service there.
He reportedly said he was promised a monthly salary of P150,000, citizenship after one year and additional bonuses for completing a special mission.
King also presented a concealed Russian visa and reportedly said he did not pay for his travel expenses.
The four passengers were assessed as potential victims of human trafficking and turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further assessment, investigation and assistance.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado urged Filipinos seeking overseas employment to verify job offers through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and its licensed recruitment agencies.
‘Filipinos should exercise extreme caution when dealing with online job offers, particularly those that promise unusually high salaries, immediate deployment, or other benefits without proper documentation,’ Viado said.
He urged prospective overseas workers to verify recruitment agencies and job orders through official DMW channels before accepting employment offers or traveling abroad.
The BI, an Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacar) member, urged the public to report suspected human trafficking and illegal recruitment through its hotline at (+632) 8-465-2400 or its official email addresses.
Reports may also be made to other concerned government agencies.