The Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday reported that four alleged human trafficking victims recruited for work in Thailand, Laos and Dubai had been intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the four were prevented from boarding their Tiger Air flight bound for Singapore at NAIA Terminal 1.

Tansingco said three of the four, who had connecting flights to Bangkok, Thailand, claimed they were going on a seven-day vacation as tourists, but later admitted they were recruited to work as service representatives.

As undocumented workers, they said they were each promised a monthly pay of P50,000 by their recruiters who contacted them through the social media platform Facebook.

The other recruit claimed she was going on a five-day vacation in Singapore.

"The other passenger was a woman in her late 30s who was disguised as a tourist. As it turned out, she was offered a job as a household service worker in Dubai and was instructed to stay in Singapore for five days while she waited for her UAE visa," Tansingco said.

The BI chief warned the public not to be victimized by illegal recruiters through online ads. He lauded the immigration officers who correctly profiled the four as trafficked persons.

"Our officers should be commended for showing how it is to be effective public servants. They work day in and day out to assure that nobody is victimized by illegal recruiters," he said.

All four were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.