A suspected victim of human trafficking was held by immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after presenting documents with forged signatures.
The 30-year-old female, who was about to depart to Singapore, claimed that she was an employee of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and is set to travel to Singapore as a delegate for an official travel, together with Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty.
Ty, who serves as the undersecretary-in-charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), is currently in Thailand attending a forum on people smuggling, trafficking in persons, and related transnational crime.
The victim presented a travel authority purportedly signed by the justice undersecretary.
A close check with the DOJ later revealed that the travel authority presented was fake, and that the victim was actually recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as an entertainer.
The woman, whose name is being withheld, claimed she paid 38,000 UAE dirhams for her fake documents. The amount will be deducted from her salary for two years.
She admitted that her documents were just given to her in a fast-food chain near the airport.
“Faking the signature of the USec in Charge of IACAT to avoid scrutiny is the idea of these illegal recruiters and human traffickers who will not stop finding ways to evade inspection,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
The victim was immediately turned over to the DOJ-IACAT, who vowed to pursue charges against the recruiters.
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