The Bureau of Immigration (BI) warned the public, particularly job seekers, from dealing with unknown individuals or companies on social media offering lucrative jobs abroad as these practices are illegal and result in human trafficking.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco issued the warning upon learning of the recent interception of a Filipino woman at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 who was stopped from leaving the country before she could board a Philippines Airlines Flight to Thailand.
The victim claimed to be a traveling tourist to visit a relative in Thailand, but later admitted that her true destination is Lebanon.
She eventually confessed that travel documents they presented were counterfeit, provided solely by the recruiter whom she had only communicated with via Facebook Messenger.
She admitted that the recruiter had instructed her to present herself as a tourist to mislead immigration officers during interviews.
Investigations revealed that the female victim had previously worked as an OFW in Lebanon and wanted to return to work using illegal means.
Earlier, four Filipino women were repatriated from Korea who were all victims of illegal recruitment.
The victims arrived in the Philippines aboard a Jeju Air flight from South Korea after being detained for working illegally as entertainers without the necessary work visa in that region.
According to the victims, they were deceived into a scheme by a Filipino who instructed them to meet a Korean national to handle their documents processing.
Investigations revealed that the victims used the mobile phone app Telegram to communicate with their recruiters who offered them jobs as entertainers in a bar, promising a monthly salary of P80,000 until their 59-day tourist visas expired.
