Illegal recruitment victim barred from leaving for Dubai
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that its Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) at the Clark International Airport barred the departure of an illegal recruitment victim bound for Dubai last April 5.
The victim, whose name was not divulged following human trafficking and illegal recruitment laws, attempted to depart to Dubai via an Emirates Airlines flight, by presenting an overseas employment certificate (OEC) as a Balik Manggagawa.
Immigration Officer Vanessa Icban noticed inconsistencies in the victim’s documents and referred the matter to members of BI’s TCEU for further inspection.
Upon checking of TCEU officer Tomas David and Vincent Serrano, it was noted that the victim last arrived in the country in 2019, and possessed a Dubai work visa.
However, upon verification, it was found that his work visa has already been cancelled, and he has an active tourist visa.
The victim was turned over to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Labor Assistance Center Pampanga for assistance.
Under the said scheme, former OFWs whose visas and contracts have expired are given new tourist visas to allow them to depart to work illegally as tourists, using their old OEC records.
The victims are promised that they can depart using their invalid OECs. Thus, they end up working for a different employer, or worse, fly off to a third country like Iraq or Syria.
