The Bureau of Immigration (BI) of the Philippines reported that during the Christmas period, nearly 190,000 travelers passed through major airports, highlighting the busy nature of the holiday season.
The BI anticipates that passenger traffic will further increase after the New Year and advises travelers to arrive at the airport early to smoothly complete procedures and alleviate peak period processing pressures.
Meanwhile, the BI also strengthened its prevention of illegal activities during the holidays. On Christmas Day, the BI successfully thwarted a suspected human trafficking case at Clark International Airport (CRK).
A 38-year-old female trafficker attempted to lead four victims on a flight to Singapore with Cebu Pacific, with plans eventually to head to Cambodia to work in activities related to online casinos.
The victims confessed that they were recruited by an Indonesian woman, promising a salary of 60,000 pesos per month at a company similar to POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) in Cambodia.
Furthermore, since the beginning of the month, the BI has repeatedly prevented similar cases. On December 21, at Clark Airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the BI intercepted several passengers who falsely claimed they were traveling to Thailand or Singapore for tourism, who ultimately admitted their real destination was Cambodia or Myanmar, intending to engage in illegal work.
The BI emphasizes that it will continue to strengthen airport inspections to curb human trafficking and online scams, and reminds the public to be vigilant against illegal recruitment and protect their own rights.
