THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently barred from leaving the country two women suspected of being human trafficking victims.

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the women were intercepted last Feb. 4 and 5.

The passengers underwent secondary inspection and were found to have presented “dubious” travel documents.

The names of the passengers were, however, withheld due to a provision in the anti-trafficking law prohibiting the public disclosure of names of human trafficking victims.

He again warned members of human trafficking syndicates to stop their “nefarious activities” that prey on vulnerable Filipinos who are enticed by them due to their poverty.

According to the BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit, the passenger intercepted last Feb. 4 was supposed to board an Emirates flight to Saudi Arabia and was found to have lied about her real age.

She allegedly gave inconsistent answers about her age when interviewed, and upon verification, it was confirmed that she was only 24 years old, despite her documents saying that she was already 29 years old.

The other passenger intercepted on Feb. 5 was about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Singapore and was found to have a spurious overseas employment certificate (OEC).

The victim presented her work documents, which were later confirmed to be “fake.”

She admitted during the interview that she was hired by a “fixer” who processed her documents in exchange for P85,000 to work as a household service worker.

Both were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance in filing cases against their recruiters. BY JUN I. LEGASPI & HECTOR LAWAS

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Jun I. Legaspi