What's Happening?

Faking religion new modus to illegally send Pinoys abroad – BI

by Izel Abanilla

PUBLISHED ON April 18, 2023

A new scheme used to send Filipinos to work illegally as domestic helpers abroad has been discovered by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

Two women who posed as Muslims were recently intercepted by the officers of the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) of the BI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on April 14 as they were about to depart the country.

According to the agency, the two women, aged 36 and 37, who attempted to depart for Dubai via a Cebu Pacific flight claimed they were Muslim pilgrims and were planning to travel by bus to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supposedly to participate in Umrah.

According to iVisas.com, Umrah is a voluntary act of love, devotion, and gratitude to Allah, and this major pilgrimage ritual can be performed at any time of the year.

Both also claimed to have recently converted to Islam and had plans to stay in Saudi Arabia for seven days.

However, during the interview, the BI officers spotted inconsistencies in their statements.

The two eventually admitted that their documents were fabricated. They said they were recruited to work as household staff by a woman they knew only through Facebook, who processed their visas and tickets.

Apparently, the victims were specifically instructed to pose as Muslims to be able to leave the country.

“These traffickers will stop at nothing to earn from their racket,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement on Monday, April 17.

“They have even abused religion to evade immigration inspection,” he added.

The two women were immediately turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation and to initiate cases against their recruiter.