The Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted two Filipino women at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) who were illegally recruited online to work as factory workers in Bahrain.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the rescued female victims claimed to be friends traveling to Hong Kong for a short vacation. Their responses during primary inspection raised red flags, which prompted a secondary inspection.
During the follow-up interview, the pair admitted their actual destination was Bahrain, where they had been recruited for factory work that promised a monthly salary of 130 BHD (approximately P19,000).
The two victims admitted that their online recruiter gave them two envelopes under the pretense of legal overseas employment: one containing standard travel documents and another with a Bahrain-bound airline ticket and visa application.
They have since been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to pursue legal action against their recruiters.
“This case has also exposed the same recruiter as the mastermind behind another group supposedly scheduled to leave for Thailand on April 29,” Viado said.
“More than twenty individuals that are said to be recruited to this scheme are now under surveillance. This information has been forwarded to IACAT, and we are fully committed to dismantling this trafficking ring,” he added.