The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has rescued 10 women believed victims of human trafficking who were about to depart for Singapore where they would work as sexual entertainers.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the 10 women, 20 to 30 years old, were intercepted moments before they could board a Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore.
“We received information earlier this month from the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) that these women were being trafficked abroad and were recruited as entertainers, but will end up as sex workers,” Tansingco said.
He said that upon receipt of the information, they immediately included the group in their monitoring records to be able to intercept them.
The BI chief said after including the information from IACAT on their records, they also received information from the Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros on the women, further validating their suspicions on their actual purpose of travel.
The women claimed that they were traveling as tourists with friends. However, a closer inspection of their records revealed valid working permits as entertainers in Singapore. Vito Barcelo
They were allegedly recruited separately online through Facebook messenger to work in a pub in Singapore. They were offered a salary of P40,000 per month, with deduction of their travel expenses for six months.
“This is a clear example of debt bondage—a tactic in trafficking—wherein they are made to pay the expenses for the recruitment. These expenses pile up, and they end up being forced to work to pay their debt,” Tansingco noted.
“A multi-agency approach is needed in the fight against trafficking. Coordination with government agencies in gathering information and intercepting trafficking victims is necessary for us to be able to stop this illegal activity,” he said.
The victims were turned over to the IACAT for assistance in filing cases against their recruiters.