November 2, 2025 | 2:14pm
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday, October 31, said it intercepted several human trafficking victims bound for Cambodia, including a man who had been blackmailed.
The human trafficking victims, all bound for Cambodia, were intercepted in three separate incidents within two days.
The first pair, two men aged 25 and 37, were flagged by authorities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on October 29. They were initially headed to Thailand before being transferred to Cambodia.
The two men were carrying fraudulent employment documents and later admitted they were traveling to Cambodia to work as customer service representatives for an online company.
“One of the men confessed that he initially backed out of the offer but was later coerced through blackmail after being told that his friend in Cambodia would be punished if he refused to continue with the plan. Out of fear for his friend’s safety, he agreed to travel and was instructed by his recruiter to pose as a tourist bound for Thailand,” the BI said in a statement.
The BI has turned over the two passengers to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.
In a similar incident on the same day, two Filipino men bound for Hong Kong were stopped after authorities discovered they had fake employment records. The men said they had been promised jobs in Cambodia paying $900 a month, or roughly P52,000.
On October 30, the BI intercepted two female passengers bound for Hong Kong. The women admitted they were recruited online for a chat support job in Cambodia, where they had been promised P60,000 a month.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado condemned the incident, calling the syndicates heartless for preying on the victims’ desperation.
“Do not risk your life and safety for offers that are too good to be true,” the BI chief urged the public.
Cambodia has become a hotspot for human trafficking, with many Filipinos falling victim to schemes that promise lucrative salaries.
