The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday vowed stiff penalties for employees who get involved in human trafficking acts.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the agency will not tolerate any misdemeanor within their ranks and they support all actions curbing illegal activities in the department.
Prior to the Senate hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender headed by Senator Risa Hontiveros, the BI chief said that they already relieved the immigration officer who recently nodded the departure of three victims.
The victims reported that their so-called "recruiter" is in cahoots with the immigration officers who were reported as the ones to approved their travel for a fee.
Tansingco emphasized that his office will not stop until all the personnel involved in such illegal act are removed from the office.
Meanwhile, the victims recounted several modus operandi done by the traffickers to evade strict immigration inspection.
During the hearing, they recalled the fake airport passes and fake immigration stamps, which transit through third countries and travel through backdoor channels to be transported in different Asian countries to work for crypto scam syndicates.
Then he urged other government organizations fighting human trafficking to cooperate in locating, apprehending, and prosecuting illegal recruiters who prey on people's vulnerabilities.
