Woman to face trial for human trafficking

CEBU, Philippines – The Cebu City Prosecutor's Office has indicted a woman accused of trying to smuggle workers abroad in exchange for money and without informing them of the nature of their jobs.

Prosecutor Aurora Peñaflor has found probable cause to charge Mylen Trinidad alias Venus in court for violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and R.A.8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act.

The prosecutor's office did not recommend bail for Trinidad's temporary liberty.

Trinidad, of Davao City, allegedly conspired with Shayne Arca and Arnold Micutuan, who were charged ahead in court, in recruiting workers for Singapore.

Micutuan and Arca were arrested by the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation-7 at the Mactan Cebu International Airport on April 11, 2014 escorting three women bound for Singapore.

The three women identified as Madelyn Guangco, Jimelyn Patanao, and Rofa Diane Vibas were later found to be victims of illegal recruitment.

The victims, who are complainants in the case, said they met Peñaflor in Davao City and were promised a job in Singapore. The victims were told to fly to Singapore as tourists using fake documents.

However, the victims were offloaded from Tiger Airways at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport because of dubious purpose for travel.

NBI-7 operatives led by Agent Niño Rodriquez responded to the call from the Bureau of Immigration and rescued the victims.

Upon investigation, the NBI found out that the accused and her cohorts were not licensed with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. They were not also authorized to recruit workers for deployment abroad.  – /FPL (FREEMAN)