BI stops 4 Filipinos bound for Myanmar over suspected illegal recruitment

MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted four Filipino passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) over suspicions that they had been recruited for overseas employment in Myanmar under questionable travel arrangements.

Authorities said immigration officers flagged the passengers, last October 6, after detecting inconsistencies in their travel declarations and supporting documents.

The four passengers, identified only by the aliases “Lin,” 27; “Tina,” 22; “Mela,” 25; and “Shelly,” 41, initially claimed they were co-workers traveling to Thailand for a five-day, company-sponsored incentive trip.

However, during secondary inspection, the passengers reportedly admitted that they were not employed by the company they claimed to represent and that their actual destination was Myanmar.

They allegedly said they had been promised customer service jobs with monthly salaries ranging from $1,000 to $1,500.

The passengers also disclosed that they had been recruited through Facebook, Telegram and other online platforms, with their recruiters allegedly providing travel and employment-related documents.

Immigration officers also found questionable employment documents and inconsistencies in the passengers’ return-ticket arrangements, according to the BI.

Following the assessment, the four passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further assessment, assistance and appropriate interventions.

The BI urged the public to verify overseas employment offers through legitimate channels and exercise caution when dealing with recruiters on social media and messaging applications.