DAVAO CITY —Personnel from Bureau of Immigration stationed in Clark International Airport stopped the travel of two females who were promised to work as singers in South Korea.
The Immigration in a statement said the two female whom they did not identify attempted to illegally work as entertainers in South Korea.
Officers of the BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) reported that the victims, all female, initially claimed to be friends bound for Thailand as tourists last March 10 together with another female companion.
Immigration officers noted conflicting statements and referred them for secondary inspection. During the interview, the three victims admitted that their companion is actually their recruiter, and that they were bound for South Korea where they were promised work as singers.
Their recruiter allegedly offered P40,000 as their monthly salary.
The victims revealed they wanted to process their documents legally, but their recruiter insisted that they pose as tourists and hide their final country of destination.
According to them, their recruiter planned to escort them to Korea and was supposed to return to the Philippines alone.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco warned aspiring overseas workers not to believe false promises of recruiters. “There are numerous cases documented wherein victims are promised work as entertainers, but end up in prostitution,” said Tansingco. “Aspiring workers should also protect themselves by ensuring that they only apply work through legal means,” he added.
The three victims and their recruiter were turned over to the CIA inter-agency council against trafficking (IACAT). Charges are expected to be filed against the recruiter following the incident.
