MANILA, Philippines — Six Filipinos pretending to be pilgrims bound for the Holy Land were prevented from leaving the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported yesterday.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the Filipinos were about to board a flight for Amman, Jordan when they were intercepted by members of the bureau’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
“They all claimed to be traveling together for a pilgrimage, but they were unaware of their travel itinerary and they did not even know each other,” he said.
Tansingco said two of the six Filipinos were supposed to join a group of 14 “pilgrims” who left the country last Sept. 27.
“Ten of them never returned and are now presumably working abroad,” he said.
The BI confirmed that the group traveled to Jordan to seek employment.
The Filipinos said that a pastor – the same one as last September – arranged their trip and they paid him P75,000 to P150,000 each, the BI reported.
Tansingco said the case has been forwarded to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. The National Bureau of Investigation, as part of the IACAT, will continue investigating the human trafficking scheme.