BI warns public anew vs seeking work abroad thru social media
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday, April 9, renewed its warnings to the public against seeking employment abroad through social media.
“We have observed that many of these trafficking victims are often recruited through messenger or groups on social media,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco in a statement.
“Avoid entertaining such officers, and apply only through legal means, through the Department of Migrant Workers,” he advised.
The warning was reiterated after learning that immigration officers at the Mactan-Cebu international Airport (MCIA) intercepted twice since March a 26-year-old Filipina who has been trying to leave the country.
The BI said the woman, whose identity has been withheld pursuant to anti-trafficking laws, was intercepted last April 2 before she could board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand.
The bureau said that, according to the woman, “she was sponsored by a Chinese national who she met on a Facebook group.”
“She admitted that she was hired to work as a private tutor and a household helper, and was promised a monthly salary of P25,000,” the bureau said.
It said “the victim was stopped in March after being found to be recruited to work as a teacher abroad.”
“However, she insisted on attempting to depart despite knowing the illegal circumstances of her recruitment,” the bureau lamented.
Her case has been endorsed to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for the investigation of her recruiters, it said.