PHL execs in UAE probing 'pesos for papers' racket at NAIA

Philippine officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are investigating an alleged "pesos for papers" extortion racket that targets overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in southern Metro Manila in the Philippines. In a report of Gulf News on Thursday, Ambassador to the UAE Grace Princesa said some OFWs alleged that they had to bribe certain immigration officials to avoid being offloaded from their flights. The report said Princesa asked the complainants to make sworn statements so that authorities can go after the perpetrators of the alleged extortion racket. The Gulf News report cited the case of a Filipina nurse who allegedly gave P25,000 (Dh2,174) to supposed immigration agents at NAIA in May so that she could fly back to Dubai on a visit visa. The report said she had been offloaded the week before as she was suspected of being a potential human trafficking victim even though she already worked in Dubai for seven years. The nurse also claimed in the Gulf News report that another person paid in the same flight paid a grease money of P37,000 (Dh3,217). - VVP, GMA News