Philippines Probes Officers over Allegedly Trafficking Women to Syria
Arab World
London - Asharq Al-Awsat
The Philippine immigration bureau said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into allegations that some of its officers were involved in the trafficking of 44 women to work in Syria. A Senate inquiry into the human trafficking scheme has been told that women using tourist visas traveled from the Philippines to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where they had been promised work. They were "locked up inside a dark and dirty dormitory and were made to sleep on the floor", Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is spearheading the inquiry, said previously. After their 30-day visas expired, they were forced to go to Damascus where they were sold to employers for as much as $10,000. "Our immigration officers seem to be sending our women into slavery," Hontiveros said last week. Dozens fled to the Philippine embassy in the Syrian capital "due to harsh working conditions", the foreign ministry said last month. It has repatriated at least six of the undocumented workers after securing exit visas for them. "I am disappointed and frustrated about the alleged involvement of BI personnel in these nefarious activities," immigration chief Jaime Morente told the Senate inquiry, according to a statement released Wednesday. “Like what we raised during the previous hearings, this scheme has grown with people from many sectors involved,” said Morente, who added that at least 28 officers are currently under investigation for their alleged participation in the trafficking. "As already proven in the past, we will not hesitate to make them face the harshest penalties," Morente said. Deep poverty in the Philippines has for decades driven Filipinos to seek higher-paying jobs abroad. Millions currently work legally and illegally in a wide range of jobs overseas. The money they send home is a lifeline for their families but advocacy groups have highlighted the social cost of migration, tearing families apart, and making Filipinos vulnerable to abuse. The commissioner said that authorities prevented 112,000 Filipinos from leaving the country with “improper documents” between 2017 and 2020 as they presumably were traveling abroad to work on a tourist visa. He added that immigration authorities referred 1,070 people to the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking during the same period for being potential victims of human trafficking.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2882506/philippines-probes-officers-over-allegedly-trafficking-women-syria
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