MANILA, Philippines— Two women suspected to be trafficking victims were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, the bureau revealed on Thursday.
According to a BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) report, the two suspected victims were about to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Bangkok on May 24 when immigration officers intercepted them.
“The women initially claimed they were sea-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) recruited to work in Thailand and presented spurious documents to mislead immigration officers. They, however, eventually confessed that their final destination is Laos, where they were hired to work as call center agents,” said the immigration bureau.
The two women also confessed that they paid P40,000 each to their handlers for processing bogus travel documents after they were recruited to work in Laos through a social media advertisement.
The BI has previously noted a spike in Filipinos trafficked to Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar promised employment at call center agencies, “only to end up working for scamming companies,” according to the bureau.
Both suspected victims have been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for aid and for legal action against their recruiters.