Immigration stops 3 men at Davao airport over alleged military jobs in Eastern Europe

Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers stopped three Filipino men from leaving the country through Davao International Airport in Davao City on October 17, after finding that they had allegedly been recruited for military and border guard work in Eastern Europe, according to Philstar.

In a statement issued on Monday, October 26, the BI identified the passengers only by their aliases: "Johnny," 25; "Berting," 51; and "Tappy," 50. Officers from the bureau's Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) flagged them after noticing major inconsistencies between their travel documents and the itineraries they declared.

The men first told officers they were flying to Thailand to join or coach a Muay Thai tournament. The BI said further questioning revealed that their real destination was Eastern Europe, where they had allegedly been promised monthly pay of P200,000 to serve as soldiers or border guards.

According to the bureau, some of the men had been in contact with recruiters known only as "Alexander" and "Oleg" through Facebook and Telegram. The recruiters allegedly paid for their travel and told them to go to Thailand first, where they would supposedly receive European electronic visas.

One of the men also told investigators that the travel plan had changed at the last minute. The BI said the group was originally instructed on October 13 to leave through a supposed "backdoor" route in Zamboanga before the recruiters switched them to a commercial flight out of Davao.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado urged the public to be wary of high-paying job offers that involve unusual travel arrangements or high-risk work. He advised Filipinos to verify any overseas employer and recruitment agency with the Department of Migrant Workers before accepting an offer.

"We will continue working with our partner agencies to help prevent illegal recruitment and protect Filipinos from possible exploitation," Viado said.