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INTRAMUROS, Manila—The management of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) exhorted its officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other ports to keep up their vigilance after it was announced that the Philippines retained its Tier 1 ranking in the US government’s human trafficking index for 2019. “I commend and congratulate the men and women of our port operations division (POD) who guard our ports day and night to ensure that countrymen are saved from the scourge of human trafficking,” Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement. The Philippines retained for the fourth consecutive year its Tier 1 ranking in the recently-released 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of State. Morente said that the rating is “a tribute to your hard work and dedication to your duties as gatekeepers of our country.”

Morente urged Bureau of Immigration personnel in the different ports to “remain vigilant as there is no sign that these human trafficking syndicates who prey on the poor, including minors, will stop their nefarious activities.” Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina, for his part, said “the latest TIP report will surely inspire and motivate POD personnel manning the ports to sustain their efforts in fighting human trafficking.” Medina said there will be no letup in the bureau’s anti-trafficking campaign even as he reported that more than 10,000 travelers were stopped from leaving the country from January to April this year, mostly for having incomplete travel papers and questionable purpose in going abroad. A Tier 1 rating means that the Philippine government fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has continually demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to combat human trafficking. The Philippines leads the ranking in East Asia and the Pacific, sharing the Tier 1 status with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Other countries mentioned in the report who were given a Tier 1 rating are Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain. "The Tier 1 status was given to only 33 countries all over the world," said Morente. "We are proud to be a big part in the government's efforts against human trafficking. We will not stop protecting our fellow Filipinos from this threat. The result of this report is a reminder why we do what we do," he added. The report also acknowledged the BI’s accomplishment in deferring the departure of 24,753 passengers due to incomplete or missing travel documents or misrepresentation, referring for investigation 286 potential cases of suspected trafficking, identifying 286 potential victims of trafficking, and arresting nine suspected traffickers. BI stopped 199 foreign registered sex offenders from entering the country last year, the same report stated.

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PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it has deported 294 Chinese nationals in two chartered flights earlier today at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, in a statement, announced the deportation of said aliens who were part of the 329 arrested in 8 different hotels and establishments last September 16 through an operation of Bureau of Immigration Intelligence agents with the assistance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (WESCOM).

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PASAY, Philippines— Bureau of Immigration Chief Grifton Medina."Our immigration officers found numerous inconsistencies in their statements. They all eventually admitted having United Arab Emirates (UAE) visas in their possession and that their final destination is Dubai where they were recruited to work as household service workers.". Four undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hired to work as household service workers (HSW) in Dubai were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for attempting to leave for Bangkok in the guise of being tourists, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.

“We are in the midst of an intensified campaign against human trafficking, thus we are warning aspiring OFWs to comply with the rules and requirements for overseas workers,” said Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente in a statement. “We are likewise warning recruiters and other cohorts not to attempt to assist or vouch for illegal workers, as you will face human trafficking cases which could lead to life imprisonment,” he added. The Bureau of Immigration chief issued the statement after immigration officers intercepted four women at the NAIA Terminal 3 who pretended they were going to Thailand as vacationing tourists. Bureau of Immigration port operations division chief Grifton Medina reported that the women were about to board a flight to Bangkok last Oct. 9 when they were intercepted by members of the bureau’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU). “They pretended that they all knew each other as they were co-workers and friends,” said Medina. He added that a woman who allegedly recruited the workers and was supposed to vouch for them and accompany them in their trip was also barred from leaving. They were all turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation and filing of appropriate charges, Medina said. Bureau of Immigration TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said the women initially claimed to be employed at the travel agency owned by their recruiter, who also arranged their trip to Bangkok. “During immigration inspection, the recruiter would act as the spokesperson for the entire group. She kept on answering for everyone, and has everyone’s documentation. This caused our officers to further doubt their story, hence they verified and eventually discovered the deceit,” said Barizo. “We are noticing here a pattern where trafficking victims are being made to appear as employees of their recruiters. But such scheme will not work anymore, luma na yan, we knew of this trick a long time ago,” Barizo said. The names of the passengers were not divulged to a prohibition in the anti-trafficking law.

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Seven suspected victims of human traffickings were rescued by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after they were intercepted for possessing spurious travel documents. “These fraud syndicates continue to ignore our warnings. There will be no letup in our campaign against human trafficking and their victims will not be allowed to leave if they are caught,” said Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente. Morente issued the statement after the seven passengers were stopped from leaving the country last week in three separate instances at Terminals 3 and 1 of the NAIA.

The latest interception involved five passengers who pretended to be tourists in attempting to leave for Malaysia last Oct. 5 at NAIA 3. “They admitted paying their recruiters fees ranging from P125,000 to P175,000 each in exchange for processing their jobs and travel papers to Australia, which was their final destination,” said Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina. The passengers were reportedly accompanied by a woman who was also stopped due to a pending court cases of estafa and illegal recruitment. ‘They also presented fraudulently manufactured employee IDs which were given to them by their handlers to make it appear that they are gainfully employed here and are thus legitimate tourists,” Medina added. Earlier, the BI’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) reported that a Malaysia-bound woman was intercepted also at NAIA 3 last Sept. 24 for having a spurious United Kingdom visa and tampered pages on her passport. “We also discovered that she was already previously barred from leaving the country on suspicion of being a tourist worker,” Bureau of Immigration-TCEU chief Timotea Barizo said. On Oct. 2, TCEU members also stopped from leaving an underage overseas Filipino worker who misrepresented her age by falsifying her date of birth. All seven passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.

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The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to avoid human traffickers and illegal recruiters who would prey on their vulnerabilities, after the agency uncovered the recurrence a modus operandi of a syndicate that houses and trains its victims at safe houses before deployment abroad. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the reminder after two women were recently barred from leaving the country for misrepresenting their age and narrating their experience with the syndicate that recruited them. The women had alleged that they were kept by their handlers in a safehouse in Paco, Manila for two months before they were booked for their flights.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently barred from leaving the country seven undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who attempted to depart in the guise of being tourists. BI Port Operations Acting Chief, Grifton Medina said the passengers were deferred to depart after being intercepted on separate occasions last week at NAIA Terminal 2 and 3.

“They were not allowed to leave after they admitted under questioning that they are not tourists but are actually going abroad to work,” He said. He reiterated his warning to those who intend to work overseas not to evade the travel requirements for OFWs by pretending to be tourists as “there is very little chance you will not be caught by our vigilant immigration officers at the airports.” Reports submitted by the Travel Control and Enforcememt Unit (TCEU) Head, Ma. Timotea C. Barizo to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that two of the passengers were intercepted at NAIA 2 last Sept. 14 as they were about to depart for Hongkong. They were barred to depart after they were noticed traveling with a woman who is in the bureau’s alert list of suspected human traffickers facilitating the deployment of undocumented workers abroad. On Sept. 15, four Malta-bound “tourist workers” were apprehended at the NAIA 2 departure area after they presented questionable documents regarding the purpose of their travel. They initially claimed they were attending a symposium but later admitted during interview that they were hired to work as maids in Malta. They further alleged that each of them gave P500,000 to their handler in return for processing their travel documents and visas. Barizo also reported the interception last Sept. 17 of a Filipina bound for Istanbul, Turkey who was caught in possession of a fraudulent overseas employment certificate. All seven passengers were turned over to the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking in Person (NAIATFAT) for further investigation.

Read more:  https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/822-7-undocumented-ofws-not-tourist-but-going-abroad-to-work-this-according-to-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-chief-grifton-medina

This was according to Bureau of Immigration port operations division chief Grifton Medina. This was in relation to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted 16 undocumented overseas Filipino workers who attempted to leave the country by disguising themselves as tourists. The full story is below .

PASAY, Philippines--Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted 16 undocumented overseas Filipino workers who attempted to leave the country by disguising themselves as tourists. In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said the passengers were intercepted in two batches at the NAIA 3 terminal last Aug. 7 as they were about to board their Cebu Pacific Airways flights to Taiwan and Hongkong. One batch consisted 12 of the passengers who were bound for Taipei while the other group of four passengers were bound for Hongkong. “They all confessed during questioning that they are not tourists and that they were hired to work abroad by illegal recruiters,” Medina said. Information obtained from BI-NAIA 3 travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) chief Anthony Lopez revealed that the 12 Taipei-bound and mostly women passengers admitted that their final destination is the United Arab Emirates where they were recruited to work by a travel agency based in Manila. On the other hand, the four Hongkong-bound women confessed that they were going to Hongkong to process their visas to China where they were allegedly promised jobs by a FilipinoChinese businessman. All 16 passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation "These syndicates just won't stop," said Morente. "Many still attempt to leave in the guise of being tourists, some in fake group tours. We wish to warn our kababayan about this modus, do not fall for the sweet-talk of these illegal recruiters. They only want to profit at your expense," he warned. 

Read more:: https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/684-they-all-confessed-during-questioning-that-they-are-not-tourists-and-that-they-were-hired-to-work-abroad-by-illegal-recruiters-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-division-chief-grifton-medina

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) deported a Korean fugitive wanted by authorities in his country for operating an illegal gambling website.

According to his report to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, Bureau of Immigration Port Operations Chief Grifton Medina identified the fugitive as 35-year-old Jung Hyeongwook, who left the country last Sept. 3 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight to Pusan. He further said Jung was deported a few days after he surrendered to the Korean embassy in Manila which earlier cancelled his passport. The passenger was reportedly issued a temporary travel document by the embassy to facilitate his departure and was later arrested upon his arrival in Korea. 

PASAY CITY - Immigration authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted again two South Koreans who are wanted fugitives from justice in their country. In a report reaching Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime H. Morente that Koreans Hong Chan Woo, 24 years old, and Jun Juman, 36 years old, whose names are both in the Interpol’s wanted list, were intercepted on Aug. 19 and 20, respectively, at the departure area of the NAIA 3 terminal.

read more:  https://borderops.ph/news/press-release/806-bureau-of-immigration-port-operations-chief-grifton-medina-south-korean-fugitives-arrested-at-naia