Two Taiwanese nationals have been arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for allegedly trafficking five Filipinos, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado identified those arrested as Pan Hou-lin, 66, and Zeng You-De, 54.
Viado said the two foreigners were intercepted last Monday, Sept. 22, at the NAIA Terminal 3 where they were found accompanying five Filipinos -- two females and three males.
“We will not stop with their arrest. We will also be filing a deportation case against these two foreign nationals who are preying on the vulnerability of aspiring overseas workers,” he stressed.
Should they be found guilty by the court, they will serve their sentence in the Philippines before their deportation, he also said.
In a statement, the BI said the five Filipinos initially said they were sponsored by the two Taiwanese for a religious activity in Taiwan.
“The victims initially claimed that they were invited to Taiwan to deliver a Buddha statue, with the trip being organized by an alleged religious association,” it also said.
However, the BI said that after closer scrutiny, “the victims later admitted that they were actually bound for Thailand and Cambodia where they were recruited to work as customer service representatives.”
It also said the victims confided that they were recruited on Facebook and Telegram, and were promised a salary of P40,000 to P50,000 a month.