DAVAO CITY (April 16) — There is new scheme to facilitate illegal recruitment nowadays-use minor for a tourist visa.
This scheme was uncovered by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) discovered Sunday, April 14.
The Filipina recruit was with an 11-year-old child were about to board a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Macau but were stopped by Immigration personnel.
Immigration Port Operations Division (POD) Chief Grifton Medina, said the victim was traveling with the 11 year old daughter of her recruiter with a travel clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) citing her as the guardian.
The recruit was leaving under the sponsorship of a cartain Filipina who is “The woman was attempting to depart as a tourist under the sponsorship of a certain Filipina who is a household service worker (HSW) in Macau,” said Medina. “She pretended to be the guardian of the child, and alleged they were bound for Macau to visit her sponsor,” he added.
A DSWD clearance is a departure requirement for minors travelling without a parent.
According to Medina, their records revealed that this was not the first time the sponsor had invited a Filipino to Macau by pretending to be the guardian of her minor daughter.
“Upon interview, the victim admitted that she was promised a job as a waitress in Macau,” said Medina. “Her recruiter promised that the costs for her travel will be deducted from her salary, which is a very problematic set-up as it puts the worker at a disadvantage,” he added.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente lauded the interception but expressed his dismay towards the rise of another trafficking scheme.
“It is very disappointing to know that some people would resort to using children as accessory to an illegal act. We will not allow our fellow Filipinos to fall prey to such malicious actions,” he said.
According to Morente, the incident “is a clear case of human trafficking” and reminded all aspiring overseas Filipino workers that they should secure the required clearance from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration for their own protection.
The woman was later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and assistance.-NewsLine.ph
