PH to check entry of Vietnam migrants, eyes trafficking syndicate

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) ordered a tight screening of Vietnamese nationals entering the Philippines following the discovery of a syndicate recruiting them to work illegally in the country.

Spokesperson lawyer Tonette Bucasas-Mangrobang said Bureau of Immigration chief Jaime Morente issued the order after 78 overstaying Vietnamese nationals admitted that they were recruited to work in the Philippines.

Mangrobang added that prior to the 78, more than 100 had surrendered and sought to be declared indigents.

The Vietnamese nationals worked either as househelpers, vendors, porters, carpenters, and other blue collar jobs and were deployed to various provinces such as Cagayan, Pangasinan, Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, and Leyte.

“Worse, since their arrival two or three years ago, they have not secured an extension of their visas due to financial constraints,” Mangrobang said.

“They do not travel in groups but in one or two or three persons per flight and their salaries range up to only P5,000 a month,” Mangrobang said, adding that recently they had received 69 similar requests for indigency.

Morente ordered airport personnel that those who could not satisfactorily explain their travel purpose should be turned back as they could be victims of human trafficking recruited by the said syndicate.

“The Philippines should not only stop being a source of human trafficking victims. We must also not allow our country to be a destination for them,” Morente said./rga