Bureau of Immigration (BI) logoUNABLE TO present proper documentation, 20 men bound for Sao Tome and Principe were stopped on June 8 by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). “Tinanong kami if gusto naming magtrabaho sa project sa Sao Tome, pumayag kami kasi malaki ang sweldo, (We were asked if we wanted to work at their project in Sao Tome. We agreed because we were offered good pay),” one of the suspected human trafficking victims is quoted in a statement released by the BI Wednesday, June 13. BI Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said the men were offered construction jobs in the small African island nation. The case has been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for investigation, she added.

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