Immigration stops 6 Pinoys posing as pilgrims

SIX Filipinos pretending to be pilgrims to the Holy Land were stopped from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Thursday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Friday.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the passengers were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Amman, Jordan. But it was later confirmed they were seeking employment abroad.

«They all claimed to be traveling together for a pilgrimage, but they were unaware of their travel itinerary. They also do not know each other,» Tansingco said.

The investigation revealed that two of the passengers were previously stopped from boarding their flight last September after immigration officers deferred their departure for having numerous inconsistencies in their statements and documentation.

«Our I-Probes found that the two passengers were supposed to join a group of 14 'pilgrims' who left the country last September 27. Ten of them never returned and are now presumably working abroad,» Tansingco said.

During the interview, the passengers stated that an alleged male pastor arranged their trip and that they all paid him large sums of money ranging from P75,000 to P150,000 each.

According to the agency, the said pastor was the same person pinpointed by the «pilgrims» who left last September as the one who arranged their purported pilgrimage.

Tansingco said the case has been forwarded to the inter-agency council against trafficking (IACAT), while the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to continue the investigation on the modus.

In 2011, six Lebanon-bound Filipinos posing as nuns were intercepted by the Immigration bureau. According to the victims, they were told by their recruiter to dress up like nuns to evade questioning.

They admitted they were departing to work as household service workers in Lebanon.