Sa ulat kay BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, idinetalye nina Travel Control and Enforcement Unit officers Maria Clarissa Bartolome at Kaypee Enebrad ang pagharang sa dalawang OFW noong Huwebes, June 24, dahil sa pamemeke ng edad para makapagtrabaho bilang Household Service Workers (HSWs) sa ibang bansa.
Nagmula ang dalawa OFW sa Cotabato at sinabing 26 at 27 taong gulang na umano sila.
Nagtangkang bumiyahe ang dalawa patungong Saudi Arabia sa pamamagitan ng Qatar Airways flight no. 931.
Ngunit nang sumalang sa panayam ng immigration officers, napaulat na hindi pareho ng kanilang mga pahayag ukol sa personal na detalye.
“It was later confirmed that they have misrepresented their age, and they admitted that their documents were merely processed for them by their recruiter,” saad ni Morente.
Matatandaang ang minimum age requirement para mai-deploy bilang HSWs ay 23 taong gulang.
“These human traffickers are victimizing the youth by enticing them to agree to such schemes,” pahayag ni Morente.
Nai-turnover na aniya ang kaso sa Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking para sa mas malalim na imbestigasyon, upang makapagsampa ng kaso, maaresto at makulong ang kanilang recruiters.
“Our kababayan end up in vulnerable situations abroad because of this scheme. These recruiters are not stopping despite the pandemic, and this modus should be curbed immediately,” dagdag nito.