After receiving reports that several repatriated victims of human trafficking passed through informal ports to evade strict immigration inspection, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco has called for increased vigilance in Philippine waters.
“Different modus operandi are being utilized by these traffickers, and at times this also includes taking small boats out of the country,” said Tansingco, as he also reiterated his warning to aspiring overseas workers not to agree to such schemes.
“Do not risk your life for the financial gain of these traffickers. They would offer you the moon, but in many cases, victims end up with nothing,” he warned, citding several such cases including repatriated victims from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.
In June, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) shared information to the BI about four individuals trafficked abroad and who utilized the Sulu and Tawi-tawi backdoor route to Semporna, Malaysia in an attempt to travel to Cambodia.
They were assured work as customer service representatives, but were reportedly beaten up and made to pay P65,000 pesos each when they were intercepted in Malaysia.
An individual was also said to have presented himself to the victims as an immigration officer, but was found not to be an employee of the BI.
Tansingco also shared that on July 14, a total of 7 repatriated Filipinos arrived from Bangkok, Thailand at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 after being trafficked to work in Myanmar and Thailand for scam companies.
One of the female victims was earlier stopped at NAIA T3, but a few weeks after was enticed by her recruiter to depart via Tawi-tawi on board a small boat.
She stayed in Malaysia for one night with another trafficked victim, then transferred to a speedboat to Brunei, then later to an airport going to Thailand. They worked as love scammers in Mae Sot, and had to pay 300,000 baht to be released by the company. They were also detained by Thai authorities before being deported to the Philippines.
Then on July 15, two other victims were repatriated from Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia after being trafficked to work as customer care assistants in a pub. They arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 and recounted how they were recruited via Facebook, and offered a P50-100k monthly salary.
They flew from Manila to Puerto Princesa and boarded a boat that transferred them to a bigger boat to Sabah. There, they were fetched by a Malaysian recruiter and transferred to Labuan, Malaysia where they were made to work in a bar and go out with guests against their will. They sought help from the Philippine Embassy, who initiated their repatriation.
“These victims are being enticed by their recruiters to agree to such complicated and dangerous ways of departing the country to evade immigration inspection but still end up victimized, made to do work that could also get them arrested abroad,” he added.
Tansingco said that the information about the modus using the Southern backdoor has likewise been raised by the BI to the inter-agency council against trafficking for investigation.
He then requested local law enforcement agencies to look into other exit areas being abused by traffickers.
“We recommend that local governments with possible exit points beef up security in said areas to protect our kababayans from these syndicates,” said Tansingco, as he stressed that efforts against trafficking should not just be focused on airports and seaports, but should start from communities.
“It starts with awareness. If you aware that these things are happening, then perhaps it can dissuade you from saying yes,” he said.
