(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Immigration has intercepted three women who planned to work as Overseas Filipino Workers in Saudi Arabia even without meeting the required age for household workers.
In a statement on Thursday, March 21, BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said that the three, whom he did not identify, were apprehended in Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 last Sunday.
Under the law, it is prohibited to reveal the names of human trafficking victims.
“They all presented passports with false birthdates to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for household service workers which is 23 years and above,” Medina said in his report to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
According to Glenn Ford Comia, BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit head supervisor at the terminal, two of the women, who were 22 years old, claimed they were 24 and 25 years old.
The other woman, he said, said she was 24 years old even when she was actually only 20.
He said the three women, however, presented valid overseas employment certificates, job contracts and working visas.
“These underaged women are prone to abuse and exploitation in foreign lands, and are being victimized by syndicates exploiting them,” Morente said.
“To those seeking greener pastures abroad, do not fall for this scheme,” he added.
The immigration bureau has ordered its officials to be on the lookout for minors being recruited by syndicates to work abroad.
On March 13, a 21-year-old who passed herself off as a 25-year-old to work abroad was intercepted by immigration authorities.