Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco vowed to show no mercy" to employees involved in human trafficking racket.
During the Senate hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros, Tansingco bared that he relieved the immigration officer that approved recently the departure of three victims.
The victims claimed that their recruiter is in cahoots with the immigration officer, who approved their travel for a fee.
The BI chief Tansingco said that his office will not stop until all those involved are removed from office.
“The fight against trafficking is a huge undertaking, and we have long been raising that this should be tackled using a whole-of-government approach,” he added.
During the hearing, victims recounted different modus operandi employed by traffickers to evade strict immigration inspection, including fake airport passes and immigration stamps as well as transiting via third countries.
He then called on other government agencies involved in trafficking to work together to identify, arrest, and file cases against illegal recruiters who prey on the vulnerabilities of people.