Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 3) – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it has recorded some 6,000 suspected victims of human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and misrepresentation for the first two months of 2023.
“We see incidents of human trafficking and illegal recruitment on a daily basis,\” BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a public briefing on Monday, calling the increase in the number of victims alarming.
“For January to February of this year, nasa anim na libo yung nakita po natin na maaaring victim ng human trafficking, victim of illegal recruitment, o di kaya po mayroong misrepresentation or ‘yung mga dokumento nila ay hindi tugma doon sa kanilang purpose of travel,” she added.
[Translation: For January to February this year, we saw 6,000 suspected victims of human trafficking, illegal recruitment or those misrepresenting or with documents that don’t match their purpose of travel]
But Sandoval clarified that only 0.6% of total departing passengers get offloaded due to cases of human trafficking, illegal recruitment, and misrepresentation, noting that the number is very low.
There’s nothing to worry about if a passenger is a regular tourist abroad, she said, emphasizing that only passengers with questionable documents are being pressed.
The BI has garnered public criticism after a viral TikTok video where a Filipina passenger recounted how she missed her flight due to a lengthy interview by a BI officer. The incident prompted other passengers to share their unpleasant experiences with BI officers on social media as well.
READ: BI apologizes after traveler missed flight due to lengthy immigration interview
During the previous months, there were a significant number of reports of crypto-syndicates who use social media to lure Filipinos into various human trafficking schemes in Cambodia and Myanmar. BI said victims were promised call center support jobs but instead, they were forced to scam foreigners in the United States and Canada.
READ: Crypto-syndicates use social media to lure Pinoys into trafficking schemes – BI
On Jan. 30, Sandoval said three BI officers are under probe for their possible involvement in human trafficking syndicates.
READ: 3 immigration officers under probe over involvement in human trafficking
