FOUR Filipino repatriates from Myanmar arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after leaving the country in the guise of being tourists.
The immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) headed by Bienvenido Castillo III reported to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco that the latest batch of repatriates, consisting of two women and two men arrived last June 26.
“We are now grappling again with the recurring scheme that has victimized many unsuspecting Filipinos, but we will not cease enforcing strict departure protocols and launching a strong communication campaign aimed at informing the public to combat this recurring modus,” BI chief stated.
All in their 30’s, the said victims reportedly arrived in the Philippines on board a Thai Airways flight from Myanmar. All four admitted to have left the country guised as tourists to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan, but were transported to Myanmar via boat.
According to Castillo, the victims admitted they were initially promised call center jobs but were forced to work as customer service representatives engaged in online scams, mirroring previous repatriates.
The victims, he said, have stated that they wanted to resign but were made to pay hefty penalties before they were released. Two were not able to receive their last salaries, while the other two were made to pay 5,000 RMB or more than P127,000.
“Pilipino rin ang recruiter nila. It’s sad to hear that our own kababayan facilitates the trafficking other Pinoys. Dinadala pa sa kapahamakan ang kababayan nila,” Tansingco lamented.
