4 victims of illegal recruitment stopped at Naia

MANILA, Philippines — Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have stopped four women who were illegally recruited to work abroad from leaving the country.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) port operations division chief Grifton Medina said the victims were supposed to board a flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when they were intercepted at the departure area of the Naia Terminal 3 on Thursday.

“Once they reached Malaysia, they planned to proceed to Dubai where they were recruited to work as household workers and drivers,” Medina said in a statement.

All four were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.

The women had presented company employment IDs from a major construction firm that supposedly sponsored their trip to Malaysia.

But upon verification, the BI learned that the women were not employees of the company, said Ma. Bernadette Catipay, BI-NAIA 3 travel control and enforcement unit head. —Tina G. Santos