BI bars 28,000 Filipinos amid anti-human trafficking campaign

More than 28,000 Filipino travelers were prevented from leaving the country during the first 10 months of the year as the Bureau of Immigration (BI) intensified its campaign against human trafficking.

BI Port Operations head Grifton Medina said a total of 28,467 passengers were not allowed to depart after failing to present pertinent documents and requirements for overseas-bound passengers.

Medina said these requirements are provided under the Guidelines on Departure Formalities for International-Bound Passengers set by the Department of Justice that the BI has been implementing to curb human trafficking.

“What we are trying to prevent here is allowing the departure of victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment,” said Medina.

Records show that of the 28,467 individuals whose departures were deferred from January to October, 23,239 were barred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while the rest were barred at the Mactan, Clark, Iloilo, Kalibo and Davao airports.

Medina also reported that from June to October, 151 minor and underaged females bound for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were intercepted for misrepresenting their age.

Last August, four Filipinos were rescued from an alleged illegal recruiter in Clark after a German national attempted to facilitate their travel by presenting themselves as volunteers, when their actual intent was to work as caregivers in Germany.

In November, six female victims were prevented from leaving after they were discovered to have presented fake travel to work as nightclub entertainers in Korea.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente commended BI port personnel for their vigilance.

“There will be no letup in our campaign so long as there are syndicates who continue to unlawfully send abroad our countrymen who are prone to abuse and exploitation in foreign lands,” the BI chief said.

Under the law, OFWs must secure an overseas employment certificate from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration before leaving the country.