Lebanon-bound Pinays who hid work visas in underwear nabbed at NAIA

Two Filipinas bound for Beirut in Lebanon despite a deployment ban there were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in JUly, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said. In a news release on Tuesday, the BI said NAIA immigration officers caught the two human trafficking victims hiding their work visas in their underwear. BI Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the two women were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Bangkok when BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) intercepted them. “If you hide your visas it proves that you are victims of human trafficking. And we will not allow you to leave,” David said. The BI said the Filipinas' Lebanese employer was identified as Fadi Antoine Abou Khalil. BI acting intelligence chief lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang said the Inter-Agency Committee Against Trafficking (IACAT) is looking further into the incident. She said the IACAT hopes to find leads that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the recruiters who victimized the women. “We reiterate our warning to our countrymen who wish to work abroad to follow the law by securing the necessary overseas employment certificates from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration,” she added. - VVP, GMA News

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