Immigration tightens screening of Bangkok-bound Pinoys

The Philippine government has ordered a thorough screening of Bangkok-bound Filipino tourists following reports that the Thai capital is being used as a transit point for “tourist workers." Tourist workers refer to undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who leave the country in the guise of being tourists, according to Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. David said he has ordered Immigration Airport Operations Division acting chief Lina Andaman-Pelia to scrutinize all Filipino passengers suspected of being tourist workers to countries that have existing deployment ban for migrant workers. Airport personnel were directed to institute measures that will prevent human traffickers and illegal recruiters from circumventing the deployment ban on OFWs by initially sending their victims to other places before flying them to their final destinations where the ban is still in effect. The Philippine government has for the meantime imposed a deployment ban on Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Nigeria due to tensions there. Immigration spokesperson Maria Antonette Bucasas-Mangrobang said they have received intelligence reports that undocumented OFWs have been using Bangkok as a jump-off point before going to the Middle East, especially to Jordan and Lebanon. Mangrobang cited an incident at the NAIA last Aug. 22 when four passengers were offloaded from their Bangkok-bound flight after it was discovered that they were actually going to Amman, Jordan. One of the passengers turned out to be a member of the group that recruited his three female companions who were promised jobs in Amman as domestic helpers. — B.L. Vergara/KBK, GMA News