The Bureau of Immigration (BI) intercepted two Filipinos allegedly being trafficked to Tonga for illegal employment, marking the first recorded attempt involving the remote Pacific nation, the agency reported Sunday.

According to the BI, the two passengers — a man and a woman aged between 31 and 35 — were intercepted at the Iloilo International Airport on 10 October while preparing to depart for Tonga via Singapore aboard a Scoot Airlines flight.

Both initially claimed to be tourists but later admitted they had been promised cashier jobs in Tonga with a monthly salary of P50,000. They also said they each paid P8,000 to P14,000 to their recruiters—identified as a cousin of one victim and a friend of the other—who facilitated the job offer.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said the incident shows how human trafficking networks are expanding their reach to more remote destinations.

The Kingdom of Tonga, a Polynesian nation, remains on the U.S. State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking. The victims have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.