AN Immigration officer and three other individuals have been charged with a range of criminal offenses, on allegations of involvement in human trafficking.
Bureau of Immigration Officer 1 Alma Grace Ambrocio David, former BI job order employee John Paul Angelico Tan Sanchez, Rachel Almendra Luna alias “Kate,” and Princess Batac Guerrero alias “Hannie” were charged with attempted trafficking in persons, large scale illegal recruitment, and graft.
The charges stemmed from accusations that they recruited and facilitated the travel of six victims, who were promised work as “call center agents” in Cambodia, with a monthly salary of $800.00-$900.00.
But victims were intercepted by the BI- Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) at the boarding gate, and eventually offloaded.
Investigations revealed that Hong Fa International Company, the supposed employer of the victims, based in Cambodia, is allegedly involved in a cryptocurrency scam that employs Filipinos as scammers.
Also on 16 February 2023, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) issued a certification that respondents Guerrero and Luna are not licensed or authorized to recruit Filipino workers for overseas employment.
Previously, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) of the Justice Department warned OFWs about the recruitment tactics of cryptocurrency syndicates on social media platforms.
This cautionary advisory followed the repatriation of eight OFWs from Cambodia who claimed they were enticed by promises of high salaries but were subsequently victimized by crypto-scammers.
The victims were promised salaries of up to US$1000 per month and were compelled to work without a day off for up to 18 hours a day
