Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 11) — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has recently intercepted seven suspected human trafficking victims bound for Iraq.
The bureau said the victims posed as tourists as they prepared for their Jan. 16 flight to Singapore at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1. All women, later admitted during questioning that their final destination is Erbil, Iraq where they were hired to work as janitresses with a monthly pay of US$1,000,” the BI said in a statement on Saturday. The Philippine government currently implements a deployment ban on workers to Iraq. According to the victims, their trip to Iraq was arranged by a travel agency based in Manila.They added that some 30 Filipinos have already been recruited by the syndicate to work in Iraq for the same employer.
