4 Filipino women barred from leaving PH

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has prevented four women, suspected of being human trafficking victims, from leaving the country via Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina, in a statement on Tuesday said the women, who were in their late 20s to 40s, attempted to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Bangkok, Thailand, last week when they were intercepted by immigration officers at the departure area of the MCIA.

The women were supposed to take a connecting flight from Bangkok to Dubai where they were hired to work as domestic helpers, Medina said.

Ma. Asuncion Palma-Gil, who heads the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit at the MCIA, said the four women initially claimed they were just tourists and would be going to Thailand for a vacation.

“When asked, they could not detail their travel itinerary,” Gil said.

The women later admitted that they were going to Dubai to work as domestic helpers and that they were directly recruited by a certain “Ms. Jessa” from a Dubai-based recruitment agency.

They were allegedly directly hired through referrals from relatives.—Tina G. Santos