The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday disclosed that two Filipinas being trafficked for illegal labor abroad were intercepted by immigration officers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) chief Mary Jane Hizon reported the two victims were intercepted on 27 January after attempting to depart the country disguised as regular tourists. They were flagged by immigration officers.

During a secondary interview, the two victims acknowledged they were actually heading to Malaysia after being hired as hotel cleaners by a woman they knew only as “Madame.”

Their alleged recruiter advised them to travel as tourists while applying for work visas in Malaysia.

According to BI commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, Filipinos are frequently tricked into such arrangements by recruiters using the “tourist worker scheme.”

Viado revealed that under the scheme, workers are forced to work under a tourist visa but ultimately fail to obtain work visas, which puts them in a precarious situation, and their employers can force them to accept otherwise intolerable terms.

The BI chief again warned all aspiring overseas workers not to fall prey to such schemes. The victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking for the filing of cases against their recruiters.