Two Filipino women who were supposedly en route to Thailand were held at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after authorities discovered that their documents were fake.
According to Jonathan Andal’s report on “24 Oras” on Monday, the Bureau of Immigration suspected that the two women could have been hired to work as online scammers in Laos.
The two introduced themselves as co-workers in a call center and said they were going on a vacation. However, immigration authorities found inconsistencies with their answers and their documents suspicious.
“Basic details about each other at saka nung kanilang biyahe, medyo sali-saliwa na po yung sagot nila. Hindi naman talaga sila magkakilala o magka-opisina,” said BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval.
(They couldn’t properly answer questions about the basic details about each other and their trip. They don’t really know each other or work together.)
The authorities later found out that their recruiter just asked them to go together. The fake documents that were handed to them were processed by a fixer they found online for P3,000.
The two women also admitted that from Thailand, they were then going to fly to Laos, believing they were going there to work as customer service representatives with the promise of P50,000 monthly salary.
The bureau suspects that they could have been trafficked just like the Filipinos whom they have rescued from Laos.
“Yung parang magiging trabaho nila doon seemingly like a BPO but is actually a scam hub, scam operations po,” said Sandoval. “Pag hindi po nila na-achieve yung quota, sila po ay physically tortured, hindi po pinapakain, hindi po rin pinapasweldo nang tama.”
(Their job there was seemingly like a BPO but is actually a scam hub doing scam operations. If they fail to achieve their quotas, they will be physically tortured, starved, and not be paid accordingly.) — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BM, GMA Integrated News
