Two suspected illegal recruiters have been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for attempting to send abroad a woman to work illegally as a customer service representative and as a nude model.
In a statement, the NBI identified the suspects as Kaye Alfaro and Dahlia Mendez Batiller. The alleged victim was identified only as “Maria.”
Alfaro was arrested when the Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted her and “Maria” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 last June 12.
“Maria” and Alfaro, the NBI said, presented themselves as tourists travelling to Thailand.
They were stopped from boarding their flight when immigration officers discovered their falsified documents.
The NBI said that “Maria” eventually revealed that she was promised a job as a customer service representative (CSR) in Thailand and was also offered to work as a nude model in Cambodia, with payment offers of P60,000 and $5,000, respectively.
It also said the offers were made by Alfaro who allegedly supplied “Maria” with falsified travel documents and facilitated her attempted departure.
Alfaro was turned over by the BI to the NBI International Airport Investigation Division (NBI-IAID) for further investigation.
While Alfaro was at NBI-IAID, Batiller visited her prompting the arrest of the latter.
The NBI said that based on a certification issued by the Licensing and Regulatory Bureau of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), neither Alfaro nor Batiller is licensed or authorized to recruit Filipino workers for overseas employment.
It also said the two suspects will be charged with violations of Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 8042, the Migrant Workers Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995, and Section 4 of RA 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended.