Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Sunday lamented that third-country recruitment for overseas Filipino workers is still prevalent.

According to Tansingco, third-country recruitment refers to the recruitment of OFWs to transit to another nation, typically after their visas have expired. He emphasized the risks of third-country recruitment for OFWs as the Philippine government would have no record of their relocation to another country.

Tansingco also shared the case of five deported passengers from Moscow, Russia, who arrived on 1 September at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on board an Oman Air flight.

The deportees, who were in their 30s and 40s, four females and a male, shared the challenges they faced in Russia.

The male deportee arrived in Russia to visit his OFW wife as a tourist but ended up staying longer owing to the pandemic.

One of the four female victims left the country as an OFW, with valid overseas employment certificates, to work as a nanny in Russia but remained there despite the expiration of her contract. The other three female victims were OFWs in Hong Kong; they were recruited to transfer to Russia upon the expiration of their contracts.

Tansingco also said that while third-party recruitment is beyond the scope of the BI, they deem it necessary to share with the public the stories that they encountered at the airport. He said OFWs should always protect themselves from exploitation by ensuring to have proper documentation whenever they work abroad.