Suspected human trafficker nabbed in Pampanga

A suspected human trafficker was arrested last week by immigration authorities allegedly while escorting six undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Lebanon at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark, Pampanga. The suspect, Marsha Mendoza, a resident of Angeles City, was about to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Hong Kong with the six female OFWs when apprehended last October 22, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), which did not divulge the names of the six victims. Complaints have been filed against Mendoza at the Angeles City Prosecutor’s Office, according to BI-DMIA officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma. The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (R.A. 9208) states that “acts of trafficking in persons" are punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years and up to P2 million in fines. BI-DMIA head supervisor Carlos Capulong said the six victims initially claimed to be students of a local computer school who had been invited for on-the-job training sessions in Hong Kong. However, immigration officials found out that they were not students of the school, nor was there any invitation to attend a seminar in Hong Kong. The women subsequently confessed to being prospective OFWs who had been promised jobs as domestic helpers in Lebanon, said Capulong. The government is currently enforcing a total ban on the deployment of OFWs to Lebanon, as the Philippines has yet to sign a memorandum of understanding with the conflict-ridden country to ensure the protection of Filipino workers, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The six would-be OFWs pointed to Mendoza as the person who briefed them on their trip and provided them with plane tickets. Bribe attempt? Capulong said that Mendoza offered him P60,000, in exchange for allowing the six women to board their flight. He said he turned down the offer and instead brought the suspect and her victims to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). Justice undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who heads the IACAT, lauded the arrest of the trafficker and the rescue of the victims. “Let this serve as a stern warning to all syndicates that the anti-trafficking council and the immigration bureau are very serious in the battle against trafficking and we will leave no stones unturned until we eradicate them," said Salazar. He noted that syndicates are growing more resourceful at bypassing security in the country’s airports, and reminded the BI to remain “vigilant and steadfast." - KBK, GMANews.TV