By Jun Ramirez

Three suspected human trafficking victims were stopped last week from leaving the country by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for presenting fake documents.

BI port operations chief Grifton Medina said three female passengers were intercepted Friday at the NAIA Terminal 3 by members of the bureau’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) as they were about to board their flights to Dubai.

The three women presented valid United Arab Emirates (UAE) visas and job contracts but their overseas employment certificates (OECs) turned out to be fake, as verified by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) personnel at the airport.

Medina added that while the women’s job contracts show that they were hired as kitchen staff, waitress and sales assistant in Dubai, they were actually going to work there as domestic helpers.

“This ‘upgrading’ of work is another scheme by illegal recruiters. Their victims are made to appear that they were recruited for high paying jobs when, in fact, they would be getting meager salaries,” Medina said.

According to BI NAIA 3 TCEU head Anthony Lopez, the passengers did not even know the name of the manpower agency that recruited them.

“The two of them admitted that they applied for their jobs via Facebook while the other one could not say how she was introduced to or recruited by her handlers,” Lopez said.

All three victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and assistance.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente urged Filipinos who want to work abroad to transact only with licensed recruitment agencies and refrain from accepting offers online without knowing the details of their recruiter.

“These syndicates are experts in the art of deception, and will sweet-talk you to believe their lies,” said Morente.