MANILA, Philippines - At least 5 officials from different government agencies and an airline company are undergoing lifestyle checks due to allegations that they have ties with human trafficking syndicates, the Manila International Airport Authority said Wednesday.

MIAA General Manager Atty. Melvin Matibag said among those being investigated are 2 high-ranking officials of the Bureau of Immigration, officials of the Bureau of Customs and an official of an airline company. All 5 are assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Matibag said.

He said the lifestyle checks will seek to determine if the officials' declared assets have exceeded their earnings.

Matibag said authorities recently arrested two officials from the BIR and BOC for trying to slip P10 million past airport authorities at the NAIA-3.

He said security measures at the airport tarmac area have been tightened after they caught 300 tourist workers being smuggled onto a plane scheduled to leave the country.

The US State Department on Tuesday said the Philippines remains in the Tier 2 list of countries whose governments have failed to show improved efforts to curb human trafficking.

The State Department was critical of the Philippine performance in all three benchmarks (prevention, protection and prosecution). 

“Though the government filed several labor trafficking cases for prosecution, it has never convicted any offenders of labor trafficking,” the report noted.

“Despite overall efforts, the government did not show evidence of significant progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking,” it concluded.