MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has blocked two Filipino female household workers bound for Saudi Arabia by pretending to be going on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The women, aged 36 and 37, were intercepted by the bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit when they attempted to depart on a Cebu Pacific flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 last Friday, April 14, the BI chief Norman Tansingco said in a statement on Monday.
The two women claimed they had recently converted to Islam and said they were traveling by bus to to Mecca.
“However, the officers noted numerous inconsistencies in their statements,” Tansingco said. “The duo later admitted that their documents were fabricated.”
Both of them admitted that they had been recruited by a woman who instructed them to pose as Muslims to be able to leave the country. This woman, whom the victims met through Facebook, was the one who processed their visas and plane tickets.
The women were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation
“They have even abused religion to evade immigration inspection,” Tangsingco said of the recruiters..