The Bureau of Immigration (BI) rescued 14 suspected trafficking victims who were allegedly recruited to work in Russia after separate interception operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 and Clark International Airport (CIA) Terminal 2 on 8 August.

Immigration officers also intercepted two suspected recruiters who were allegedly facilitating the departure of some of the victims.

At Clark, six men in their 40s and 50s attempted to leave the country aboard a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong.

The passengers initially claimed they were going on vacation with former military colleagues but gave conflicting statements about their trip. They later admitted that Russia was their actual destination and that they had been recruited for jobs offering a monthly salary of $3,000.

Meanwhile, eight other suspected trafficking victims were intercepted at NAIA before boarding a Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore.

The group, composed of six men and two women in their 30s to 50s, initially claimed they were traveling for business.

Immigration officers later discovered that they were also allegedly bound for Russia after being promised high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship.

The eight passengers identified a man and a woman traveling on the same flight as their facilitators. The two maintained that the trip was for business purposes.

All 14 suspected victims and the two alleged facilitators were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and possible filing of charges.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado warned Filipinos seeking employment abroad against recruitment schemes offering unusually attractive compensation and other incentives.

“These recruiters will promise you high salaries and even citizenship, but victims often fall into distressing situations,” Viado said.

“Protect yourselves from these predators. They recruit Filipinos solely for their own gain, but will not hesitate to put your lives and safety at risk once you are in a foreign country,” he added.