Philippine immigration authorities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila have intercepted a suspected human trafficking victim and her alleged recruiter attempting to board a flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Saturday.
The 21-year-old woman, identified only as “Aya,” and her alleged uncle, a 28-year-old man known as “Abu,” were detained on October 11 during secondary checks by the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section at Terminal 1 in Parañaque City. The pair presented Umrah visas, claiming they were traveling for a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
However, intelligence received by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) revealed that Aya intended to enter Saudi Arabia illegally as a household service worker. During questioning, Aya admitted she had previously worked as a domestic helper in Marawi, a city in the southern Philippines.
Both individuals were handed over to IACAT for further investigation and potential charges against Abu and other accomplices. BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said authorities are probing the possible involvement of an immigration officer in the case.
“We have strengthened our safeguards with multiple layers of monitoring to prevent any form of human trafficking,” Viado said in a statement. “Those found complicit in the illegal deployment of Filipinos will be held fully accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
In a separate incident, the BI arrested a 27-year-old Indian national, Gurwinder Singh, in Nueva Ecija province on October 10 for overstaying his visa since 2018. Singh was apprehended at an eatery along Maharlika Highway in San Leonardo and failed to produce a passport or any identification. He is currently detained at a BI facility in Taguig, pending deportation proceedings.
The Philippines has intensified efforts to combat human trafficking, a persistent issue in the country, with authorities cracking down on illegal recruitment schemes targeting vulnerable workers seeking overseas employment.
