BI rescues 3 from human trafficking

BUREAU of Immigration (BI) officers at the Davao International Airport (DIA) rescued three Filipino women from a suspected human trafficking scheme that allegedly intended to send them to Singapore to work as entertainers, the agency reported on Wednesday.

The interception, conducted by the BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section, took place on Aug. 12, when frontline officers stopped two women in their 20s and one 18-year-old before they boarded a Scoot Airlines flight.

Immigration officials said two of them came from Luzon and had traveled to Davao for the trip.

They initially told officers they were traveling together for a five-day holiday, but verification revealed they had been recruited for overseas work.

One victim reported that she was introduced by a neighbor in Davao to a Manila-based contact, who facilitated their travel without requiring payment. However, the contact stated that recruitment expenses amounting to SGD5,000 (approximately P221,846.50) would be deducted from their salaries.

“This is a form of debt bondage,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado in a statement on Wednesday. “This is a clear case of human trafficking, wherein our kababayan are made to agree to unfair arrangements. In many cases, women who are promised work as entertainers are later forced to work in the sex trade.”

The victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation. Authorities have identified two possible recruiters and are also probing the possible involvement of two immigration personnel.

“We commend the swift action of our immigration officers who thwarted this attempt to traffic women abroad. This interception shows that our multiple layers of security are effective,” Mr. Viado said. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana