BI intercepts 2 ‘underage’ Pinoys bound for Saudi

In a statement, BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Grifton Medina said the two women, aged 19 and 20, were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 while in their attempt to board a flight to Dubai in United Arab Emirates, where they will later board a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia last September 21. (File Photo: Bureau of Immigration, Republic of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday announced it has intercepted two Filipino women from leaving the country for misrepresenting their ages to be able to work in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, BI Port Operations Division (POD) chief Grifton Medina said the two women, aged 19 and 20, were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 while in their attempt to board a flight to Dubai in United Arab Emirates, where they will later board a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia last September 21.

He said the passengers both presented valid passports, visas, job contract, and overseas employment certificates but the birth dates in their documents were intentionally altered to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for Household Service Workers which is 23 years old.

“Both women initially claimed that they were 26 years old, but eventually admitted their real age upon questioning,” Medina said.

On the other hand, BI-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo noted that the women recounted how they were quartered for two months at a safe house in Manila where they were briefed and taught by their recruiters how to respond to questions from immigration officers.

“We’ve heard this in the past, usually victims would be briefed a few days before their flight. But now they’re actually housed for months to train on how to evade immigration questioning,” she said.

“The two victims admitted that their documents were given only prior to departure, and that they were told to open it only after check in. This forces them to go on and comply with the scheme despite the discrepancy since they are already there,” Barizo added.

With this, the BI reminded anew Filipinos wanting to work overseas to transact only with government-accredited manpower agencies so as not to be victimized by syndicates.

“Transact only with legitimate agencies accredited by the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration),” BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement.

Morente also instructed the bureau’s port operations division (POD) and travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) to conduct strict profiling and inspection of departing passengers to ensure that no underage OFWs are able to leave.