Trafficking victims rescued in Cebu

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said it rescued five human trafficking victims at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport  and intercepted an escort believed to be part of a syndicate trafficking undocumented overseas workers.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, the five passengers were intercepted as they were about to board their flights for Hong Kong and Macau.

They were apparently hired to work as household service workers and waitresses, the BI said, and were to be flown to Hong Kong and Macau and later to Dubai, for which they admitted during investigation that they had working visas.

The escort was turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation, which filed a criminal complaint for human trafficking and illegal recruitment against her before the prosecutor’s office in Cebu City, the BI said in a statement.

The bureau declined to reveal the suspect and the victims’ names as it cited a provision in the antitrafficking law. Morente alerted BI personnel nationwide to be on the lookout for trafficking victims who might attempt to exit their turf.—TINA G. SANTOS