Filipina ‘trafficked’ to Australia for organ harvesting

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday said it would investigate the reports that a Filipino woman was brought to Australia for the “organ harvesting.”

“As soon as we get the identity, we would make a check on our records as to when she departed, which terminal. We would assume that she has a visa when she left,” BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Bucasas-Mangrobang said.

According to wire reports, the woman was accompanied by an elderly Australian with a kidney ailment. During pre-surgery interviews at a Sydney hospital, authorities learned that the Filipino did not give her full consent for the organ “donation” she was to make.

Mangrobang said the Filipino woman probably entered Australia on a tourist visa, adding, “It’s not easy to get a visa for Australia. Screening is tough at the Australian Embassy.

She said that while the BI is a member of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, the Department of Foreign Affairs has primary jurisdiction on the incident since the Filipino is abroad.

She said the BI would not know if travelers were victims of organ trafficking since the agency’s common encounter is with victims of labor trafficking.