Airport worker eyed in human smuggling | Global News

Airport worker eyed in human smuggling

/ 06:04 AM October 31, 2014

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has alerted the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (Iacat) to be on the look-out for an airport employee allegedly involved in a human smuggling racket at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

Citing a report from the National Antihuman Trafficking Task Force, De Lima said immigration personnel intercepted four Filipino passengers at the predeparture area of Naia Terminal 1 as they attempted to sneak past the immigration counters last Tuesday.

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The passengers, who were bound for Lebanon and Jordan, were all wearing official business (OB) passes issued by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA). The pass grants a bearer access to areas of the terminal restricted to non-employees.

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No other details on the passengers were released.

Traced

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The passes were traced to Analy Soriano, an employee assigned to the office of the MIAA assistant general manager for Security and Emergency Services (SES).

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“We received information that the suspect intends to leave the country to evade investigation, hence, all IACAT personnel were alerted accordingly,” De Lima said.

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“It is lamentable that some MIAA employees are the ones facilitating the exit of potential trafficking-in-persons (TIP) victims,” she said.

Human trafficking remains a serious concern in the Philippines, with the country still given a Tier 2 rating in the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) 2014. The annual report is considered the “most comprehensive report” on government efforts against human trafficking across the globe.

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The report uses a three-tier system to classify governments in accordance with how they comply with the US Traffic Victims Protection Act.–Tarra Quismundo

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TAGS: human smuggling, Human trafficking, Leila de Lima, Manila International Airport Authority, NAIA

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