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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Human trafficking, large-scale illegal recruitment, estafa charges set for filing vs woman arrested in NAIA

Human trafficking, large-scale illegal recruitment, estafa charges set for filing vs woman arrested in NAIA

Published Aug 10, 2023 11:07 am

At A Glance

  • Several criminal charges, including qualified human trafficking, are set for filing in court against a woman whose online posts against "unnecessary requirements" sought from her by immigration officers became viral last May.

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NAIA

Several criminal charges, including qualified human trafficking, are set for filing in court against a woman whose online posts against “unnecessary requirements” sought from her by immigration officers became viral last May.

In a statement, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said the charges will be filed after the Pasay City prosecutor’s office issued an inquest resolution on the charges against the woman identified only as “De Leon.” She was arrested last July 30 at the Terminal III of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The IACAT said that aside from human trafficking, “De Leon” will also be charged with large scale illegal recruitment and estafa.

The charge of falsification of private documents has not been resolved, IACAT said.

It said that “De Leon” was among six female passengers who posed as tourists bound for Malaysia and Singapore. They were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES).

It also said that “De Leon” was arrested after she was identified by the five other passengers as their recruiter.

IACAT said that “during the interview, all of them initially declared that they were travelling as tourists to Malaysia and were fully sponsored by their companion ‘De Leon.’ Five (5) of them declared ‘De Leon’ as their alleged employer as Sales Encoder Assistant while One (1) declared that she is a relative and is merely assisting ‘De Leon’ because the latter is pregnant. On the other hand, ‘De Leon’ claimed to be an International Property Specialist of a known Property Developer in the Philippines.”

It also said: “The five (5) passengers eventually revealed that they only met ‘De Leon’ on that day in a fast-food restaurant in NAIA Terminal III. A certain ‘Tiffany’ allegedly offered them jobs in Malaysia, but they instead met ‘De Leon’ on that day who provided them their fake employment documents, which they presented to the immigration officers. They voluntarily admitted verbally and in writing that they were instructed by ‘De Leon’ to pose as tourists and to be firm in their declaration that they are her employees and One (1) as her relative. They also voluntarily admitted verbally and in writing that they are all unemployed and are actually travelling to Malaysia for employment as Entertainer (1), Online Tutor (1), Caregiver (1), and Massage Therapists (2).”

At the same time, IACAT said that “De Leon was the subject of an Incident Report dated 12 May 2023 of the Bureau of Immigration, which pertains to her 10 May 2023 Facebook post, which alleged ‘bulok na sistema ng gobyerno (rotten government system)’ then proceeded to narrate her offloading story and the alleged unnecessary requirements given by the secondary inspector in order to be allowed to depart.”

It said that “De Leon was not cleared for departure for four (4) times on different dates in April 2023 due to discrepancies in her declarations with her documents and for failure to establish her personal capacity to support her travel as a tourist.”

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Ninoy Aquino International Airport
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