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PASAY, Philippines—Two more suspected human trafficking victims were stopped from leaving by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for falsifying their birthdates. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the two female passengers, who presented valid overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) documents, were intercepted last Wednesday at the NAIA terminal 1 by members of the Bureau’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU). According to reports, the duo attempted to depart via a Scoot Airways flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia allegedly to work as household service workers when they were flagged for secondary inspection by frontline immigration officers. Medina said the officers doubted the ages of the passengers as indicated in the passports due to inconsistencies in their answers and their demeanor.

PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has deported 294 Chinese nationals in two chartered flights earlier today at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement, announced the deportation of said aliens who were part of the 329 arrested in 8 different hotels and establishments last September 16 through an operation of Bureau of Immigration Intelligence agents with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM).

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PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has deported 294 Chinese nationals in two chartered flights earlier today at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement, announced the deportation of said aliens who were part of the 329 arrested in 8 different hotels and establishments last September 16 through an operation of Bureau of Immigration Intelligence agents with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM).

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CEBU, Philippines—Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) rescued 17 suspected human trafficking victims who were illegally recruited to work as household service workers (HSW) in the Middle East. Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the female passengers disguised as tourists were intercepted on Oct. 16 and 17 before they could board their flights to Hongkong and Macau en route to their final destinations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“It appears that these victims were recruited by a syndicate which separately booked them on several flights in order to mislead our immigration officers on the purpose of their trip. And that is to work abroad without documentation,” Medina said. He surmised that due to the Bureau of Immigration’s intensified campaign against trafficking, the syndicates are attempting to shift their operations to other exit ports. “They are, however, wrong in assuming that we are less vigilant in guarding our ports outside Manila,” Medina stressed, adding that Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente has already alerted Bureau of Immigration personnel manning the different reports to be extra vigilant following the incident at Mactan airport. Ma. Asuncion Palma-Gil, BI-MCIA’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) head, disclosed that the 17 passengers were offloaded from five different flights and that 13 of them were hired to work in Dubai while the other four were bound for Qatar. “They all admitted having UAE and Qatari visas in their possession and that they were recruited by individuals they only met via Facebook or through their people they know currently working in Dubai and Doha,” Palma-Gil said. She added that the passengers were not familiar with their travel itinerary and what they would do upon arriving in Hongkong and Macau as they would only rely on instructions to be given to them by their handlers. “This is a clear case of human trafficking wherein victims who are jobless and have no visible means of support are sent abroad and put in harm’s way to satisfy the cravings for profit of unscrupulous recruiters,” Palma-Gil added. The women were later turned over to the MCIA Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.

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PASAY, Philippines— Bureau of Immigration Chief Grifton Medina."Our immigration officers found numerous inconsistencies in their statements. They all eventually admitted having United Arab Emirates (UAE) visas in their possession and that their final destination is Dubai where they were recruited to work as household service workers.". Four undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hired to work as household service workers (HSW) in Dubai were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for attempting to leave for Bangkok in the guise of being tourists, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

“We are in the midst of an intensified campaign against human trafficking, thus we are warning aspiring OFWs to comply with the rules and requirements for overseas workers,” said Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente in a statement. “We are likewise warning recruiters and other cohorts not to attempt to assist or vouch for illegal workers, as you will face human trafficking cases which could lead to life imprisonment,” he added. The Bureau of Immigration chief issued the statement after immigration officers intercepted four women at the NAIA Terminal 3 who pretended they were going to Thailand as vacationing tourists. Bureau of Immigration port operations division chief Grifton Medina reported that the women were about to board a flight to Bangkok last Oct. 9 when they were intercepted by members of the bureau’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU). “They pretended that they all knew each other as they were co-workers and friends,” said Medina. He added that a woman who allegedly recruited the workers and was supposed to vouch for them and accompany them in their trip was also barred from leaving. They were all turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation and filing of appropriate charges, Medina said. Bureau of Immigration TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said the women initially claimed to be employed at the travel agency owned by their recruiter, who also arranged their trip to Bangkok. “During immigration inspection, the recruiter would act as the spokesperson for the entire group. She kept on answering for everyone, and has everyone’s documentation. This caused our officers to further doubt their story, hence they verified and eventually discovered the deceit,” said Barizo. “We are noticing here a pattern where trafficking victims are being made to appear as employees of their recruiters. But such scheme will not work anymore, luma na yan, we knew of this trick a long time ago,” Barizo said. The names of the passengers were not divulged to a prohibition in the anti-trafficking law.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to avoid human traffickers and illegal recruiters who would prey on their vulnerabilities, after the agency uncovered the recurrence a modus operandi of a syndicate that houses and trains its victims at safe houses before deployment abroad. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the reminder after two women were recently barred from leaving the country for misrepresenting their age and narrating their experience with the syndicate that recruited them. The women had alleged that they were kept by their handlers in a safehouse in Paco, Manila for two months before they were booked for their flights.

Morente instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) and travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) to conduct strict profiling and inspection of departing passengers to ensure that no underage OFWs are able to leave. According to Bureau of Immigration POD chief Grifton Medina, the two women, aged 19 and 20, were intercepted last Sept. 21 at the NAIA terminal 2 in their attempt to board a connecting flight from Dubai to Saudi Arabia. Medina said the passengers both presented valid passports, visas, job contract, and overseas employment certificates but the birth dates in their documents were intentionally altered to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for Household Service Workers which is 23 years. “Both women initially claimed that they were 26 years old, but eventually admitted their real age upon questioning,” Medina said. Bureau of Immigration-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said that the women recounted how they were housed for two months at a safehouse in Manila where they were briefed and taught by their recruiters how to respond to questions from immigration officers. “We've heard this in the past, usually victims would be briefed a few days before their flight. But now they're actually housed for months to train on how to evade immigration questioning," said Barizo. "The two victims admitted that their documents were given only prior to departure, and that they were told to open it only after check in. This forces them to go on and comply with the scheme despite the discrepancy since they are already there,” Barizo said. Morente reiterated his reminder to OFWs not to fall prey to these schemes. "Transact only with legitimate agencies accredited by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration)," he reminded.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to avoid human traffickers and illegal recruiters who would prey on their vulnerabilities, after the agency uncovered the recurrence a modus operandi of a syndicate that houses and trains its victims at safe houses before deployment abroad. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the reminder after two women were recently barred from leaving the country for misrepresenting their age and narrating their experience with the syndicate that recruited them. The women had alleged that they were kept by their handlers in a safehouse in Paco, Manila for two months before they were booked for their flights.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently barred from leaving the country seven undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who attempted to depart in the guise of being tourists. BI Port Operations Acting Chief, Grifton Medina said the passengers were deferred to depart after being intercepted on separate occasions last week at NAIA Terminal 2 and 3.

“They were not allowed to leave after they admitted under questioning that they are not tourists but are actually going abroad to work,” He said. He reiterated his warning to those who intend to work overseas not to evade the travel requirements for OFWs by pretending to be tourists as “there is very little chance you will not be caught by our vigilant immigration officers at the airports.” Reports submitted by the Travel Control and Enforcememt Unit (TCEU) Head, Ma. Timotea C. Barizo to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that two of the passengers were intercepted at NAIA 2 last Sept. 14 as they were about to depart for Hongkong. They were barred to depart after they were noticed traveling with a woman who is in the bureau’s alert list of suspected human traffickers facilitating the deployment of undocumented workers abroad. On Sept. 15, four Malta-bound “tourist workers” were apprehended at the NAIA 2 departure area after they presented questionable documents regarding the purpose of their travel. They initially claimed they were attending a symposium but later admitted during interview that they were hired to work as maids in Malta. They further alleged that each of them gave P500,000 to their handler in return for processing their travel documents and visas. Barizo also reported the interception last Sept. 17 of a Filipina bound for Istanbul, Turkey who was caught in possession of a fraudulent overseas employment certificate. All seven passengers were turned over to the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking in Person (NAIATFAT) for further investigation.

Read more: https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/822-7-undocumented-ofws-not-tourist-but-going-abroad-to-work-this-according-to-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-chief-grifton-medina

This was according to Bureau of Immigration port operations division chief Grifton Medina. This was in relation to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted 16 undocumented overseas Filipino workers who attempted to leave the country by disguising themselves as tourists. The full story is below .

PASAY, Philippines--Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted 16 undocumented overseas Filipino workers who attempted to leave the country by disguising themselves as tourists. In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said the passengers were intercepted in two batches at the NAIA 3 terminal last Aug. 7 as they were about to board their Cebu Pacific Airways flights to Taiwan and Hongkong. One batch consisted 12 of the passengers who were bound for Taipei while the other group of four passengers were bound for Hongkong. “They all confessed during questioning that they are not tourists and that they were hired to work abroad by illegal recruiters,” Medina said. Information obtained from BI-NAIA 3 travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) chief Anthony Lopez revealed that the 12 Taipei-bound and mostly women passengers admitted that their final destination is the United Arab Emirates where they were recruited to work by a travel agency based in Manila. On the other hand, the four Hongkong-bound women confessed that they were going to Hongkong to process their visas to China where they were allegedly promised jobs by a FilipinoChinese businessman. All 16 passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation "These syndicates just won't stop," said Morente. "Many still attempt to leave in the guise of being tourists, some in fake group tours. We wish to warn our kababayan about this modus, do not fall for the sweet-talk of these illegal recruiters. They only want to profit at your expense," he warned. 

Read more: :https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/684-they-all-confessed-during-questioning-that-they-are-not-tourists-and-that-they-were-hired-to-work-abroad-by-illegal-recruiters-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-division-chief-grifton-medina

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) deported a Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in his country for operating an illegal gambling website.

According to his report to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina identified the fugitive as 35-year-old Jung Hyeongwook, who left the country last Sept. 3 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight to Pusan. He further said Jung was deported a few days after he surrendered to the Korean embassy in Manila which earlier cancelled his passport. The passenger was reportedly issued a temporary travel document by the embassy to facilitate his departure and was later arrested upon his arrival in Korea. “I’ve recommended to Commissioner Morente that he (Jung) be placed in our blacklist to prevent him from re-entering the country,” according to him. It was learned that Jung, who is wanted for prosecution for violating his country’s national sports promotion act, was subject of a red notice issued by the Interpol last July 16. Citing information obtained from the Korean police, the Bureau of Immigration-Interpol said that between October 2015 and March 2016, Jung operated an illegal gambling website called “pony–ber1.com” which provided sports betting facility to members. Jung and his cohorts allegedly collected betting money from the members and pocketed nearly US$ 6 Million from the online gambling racket. He may be sentenced up to a maximum jail term of seven years if convicted.

Read more: https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/815-jung-korean-national-arrested-for-operating-and-illegal-gambling-website-should-be-placed-in-our-blacklist-to-prevent-him-from-re-entering-the-country-from-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-chief-grifton-medina