BI stops alleged illegal recruitment victim from leaving PH

FILE PHOTO: Passengers in NAIA Terminal 1 line up behind the yellow lines of immigration counters. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it prevented an alleged illegal recruitment victim from boarding her plane to Bangkok in Thailand on March 8, 2024. Philippine Daily Inquirer / Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Saturday that it prevented an alleged illegal recruitment victim from boarding her plane to Bangkok in Thailand on March 8.

The woman initially claimed to be an agent of the International Police (Interpol) under the Protective Intelligence Anti-Crime Organization (PIAO), according to the BI. She even presented an identification card along with other documents supposedly from PIAO.

However, during the secondary inspection, she admitted that her documents were fake and that she was recruited to work as a household service worker in Thailand.

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“[S]he was recruited via Facebook to work as a household service worker in Thailand,” BI immigration protection and border enforcement section official Bienvenido Castillo III  said in a statement.

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“Her recruiter reportedly offered her a P40,000 salary before giving her the documents,” he added.

The woman was subsequently transferred under the care of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, the bureau said, adding that cases will be filed against her recruiters.