Immigration stops 4 women from illegal travel to Europe

FOUR female overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) bound for Dubai were intercepted by Bureau of Immigration authorities after they pretended that they were going to work in Europe as household workers.

In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI’S Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) said the passengers attempted to board an Emirates flight to Dubai at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 last July 12, when they were caught.

Based on the report the OFWS initially showed valid work permits and visas to Albania, but upon further interrogation they were actually hired to work as household service workers in Dubai.

They likewise admitted that they were not going to proceed to the said European country.

Morente said this modus operandi is usually employed by human traffickers and illegal recruiters.

“They will obtain work permits and job contracts for their victims to work in another country, such as Albania or Maldives, when in fact Dubai is their actual work destination,” the report stated.

“This is a type of third country recruitment, wherein victims are given documents for one country, but end up being deployed in another,” Morente noted.

Morente lamented that in many instances, victims are made to accept conditions that are otherwise not acceptable just to be deployed for work. The TCEU reported that all four passengers presented documents showing they were hired to work either as housekeepers or warehouse staffers in Albania.

Their employers reportedly paid as much as P200,000 for the processing of their visas.