Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Image from MIAA
MANILA, Philippines — Seven Filipino women bound for Iraq were intercepted at Ninoy International Airport (Naia) last month by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
According to the BI, the seven tried to leave the country on Jan. 16 as tourists on board a Scoot Airways flight bound for Singapore where they would take a connecting flight to Iraq via Dubai or Qatar.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the passengers, who were all women, admitted to being hired to work as janitresses with a monthly salary of $1,000 in Erbil, Iraq.
However, the government has banned overseas Filipino workers from going to Iraq due to multiple religious conflicts. But the victims claimed that their recruiter had already flown some 30 Filipinos to Iraq.
The victims initially claimed that their trip to Iraq was arranged by a travel agency.