Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 27) — An airport staff was caught escorting two human trafficking victims who attempted to fly to Dubai on Dec. 22, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Wednesday.
The BI said in a statement that the incident was already reported to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and filing of appropriate charges.
According to the bureau, the two victims were supposed to transit through Thailand for Dubai. They initially posed as friends from General Santos City on vacation.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said it was discovered during secondary inspection that the victims did not know each other’s names and they did not have return tickets.
They later confessed to being recruited as household service workers in Dubai through Facebook, without knowledge of their transit arrangements to UAE.
Tansingco emphasized that immigration areas are strictly off-limits to unauthorized personnel, “especially those providing VIP treatment to trafficking victims.”
Note: An earlier version of this story reported three human trafficking victims instead of two, citing the BI’s initial report. The immigration bureau has since corrected its figures.
