Nine Filipinos who were heading to South Korea and were victims of human trafficking were rescued in Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Manila last Thursday.
According to Grifton Medina, the port operations division chief of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the nine were intercepted as they were about to board their flight, GMA News reported.
The nine claimed they were traveling as tourists to South Korea to watch a Nanta acrobatic exhibition, but later admitted during questioning that they were illegally recruited to work as orange pickers at a plantation on Jeju Island.
“When pressed on the actual purpose of their trip, they confessed that they were hired to work with a promised monthly salary of PHP65,000 (US$1,228),” Medina said.
The nine, whose identities were not disclosed, were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.
Earlier last week, six men and two women were barred from boarding a plane to Dubai en route to Cyprus. The eight claimed they were traveling overseas for a vacation, but later admitted they were heading to Cyprus to work without proper documentation.