The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has prevented the departure of five passengers posing as tourists but suspected to be victims of human trafficking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the female passengers were apprehended on May 30 due to misrepresentation and were subsequently denied boarding their flights.
Four of the passengers intended to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, while the other one was bound to Singapore.
According to a report from the BI's travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU), the women presented fraudulent employment documents and canceled hotel reservations.
Also, their responses to questioning were inconsistent and revealed discrepancies regarding the nature of their employment in the Philippines.
Tansingco expressed concerns over the possibility that the four passengers bound for Bangkok may have fallen prey to trafficking schemes.
One of the passengers claimed to work as a news and current events researcher for a major news network, but later admitted to being hired as an office staff in Thailand with a promised monthly salary of P30,000.
Regarding the Singapore-bound passenger, she eventually confessed that she had been hired as an entertainer at a nightclub in the city-state.
Following the interception, the women were handed over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation.
Tansingco commended the vigilance of the BI officers at NAIA, emphasizing that their actions had prevented the abuse and exploitation of these individuals in foreign lands.