Almost 700 suspected 'tourist workers' barred from leaving RP

Almost 700 Filipino travelers were barred from leaving the country after they were suspected of being "tourist workers" — those who pretend that they are going overseas as tourists when they are actually planning to work abroad. Bureau of Immigration (BI) Officer-In-Charge Ronaldo Ledesma said 672 passengers at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) were barred from leaving in June and July on suspicion of being “tourist workers." The DMIA, also called the Clark International Airport, is located at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City, Pampanga. Clark was a former United States military base that now houses a golf resort, industrial buildings, and retail establishments. The BI tightened its monitoring and screening procedures at the DMIA after receiving reports that Clark was being used as a base of operations by human traffickers and illegal recruiters. Lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI-DMIA head supervisor, said the 672 passengers were "offloaded" or not allowed to travel between August 1 to 31 as they attempted to leave with dubious travel documents. Compared with the number of passengers who left the country via DMIA, the 672 passengers represent roughly 6.8 percent of the 9,938 travelers who were allowed to take overseas flights at the DMIA. Citing earlier reports, Capulong said the undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who leave via Clark were usually bound for Malaysia, where many reportedly end up working as household helpers and others as prostitutes. The BI earlier reorganized its personnel at Clark amid suspicions that certain immigration officers previously assigned there were allegedly in cahoots with criminal syndicates. –VVP, GMANews.TV