"Paulit-ulit na lang" (It happens over and over again.) 

This was the lament of Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco as he expressed his dismay that Filipinos continue to be victims of human trafficking despite repeated warnings by the government.

Tansingco reiterated his warning that Filipinos will expose themselves to danger should they accept offers to be trafficked abroad.

Four Filipinos who posed as tourists were barred from leaving the Philippines for Thailand last Feb. 17 at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga. 

“These individuals have good backgrounds, are tech savvy, yet they chose to be blinded by the offers of these syndicates,” Tansingco said. 

In a statement, the BI said that two of the victims are cousins who were recruited via Facebook to work in Koh Kong, Cambodia.  

“They invited two others to join them to the worksite, and they were said to have been instructed to pose as tourists to Thailand for vacation to deceive immigration authorities,” it said. 

“They admitted that they were offered a job as non-voice customer representative with a monthly salary of around US$800 with free food and accommodation,” it also said. 

“Ang pag-alis sa iligal na pamamaraan ay napakalaking risk, lalong lalo na’t alam na natin ang kinahihinatnan ng maraming biktima (Leaving the country illegally is risky especially we know what happens to the victims),” Tansingco said.