A man, who introduced himself as a pastor, was intercepted at the Clark International Airport (CRK) on November 1 for allegedly attempting to traffic three Filipinos to work illegally in scam hubs in Cambodia.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the man, who introduced himself as ‘Pastor Falcon’, attempted to depart on board a Cebu Pacific flight for Bangkok, Thailand with three individuals he claimed were his churchmates in their religious organization.
When interviewed separately by members of the BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES), the three gave conflicting statements about their purpose of travel and affiliation with each other, the agency said.
The victims eventually admitted that they were actually headed for Cambodia, where they have been recruited to work as call center agents and cook for a company.
The BI said they were offered high salaries of up to P50,000 per month, but had no idea about the exact nature of the work they will be doing.
They also admitted that they sought the assistance of the said ‘Pastor’, who claimed that he was able to escort many workers out of the country already, according to BI.
A quick check of the suspect's records confirmed that he previously traveled with at least one individual who left as a tourist but has not returned to date.
Viado slammed the trafficking attempt of the fake pastor.
“He even presented a supposed endorsement letter from the congregation, saying that the three victims are members of the church who are passionate about serving others and sharing the love of Christ,” said Viado. “It is disappointing how traffickers use religious activities as coverups for their crime. This fake pastor deserves to face cases for trafficking victims and making them agree to their offers, despite knowing the hardships that they will face in scam hubs abroad,” he added.
The suspect and his three victims were turned over to the Clark airport inter-agency council against trafficking (IACAT), which is set to initiate investigation and filing of cases against the recruiters.