THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that six human trafficking victims were repatriated to the Philippines following their recruitment to work in scam hubs in Myanmar where they reportedly received little to no salary and were even subjected to physical and psychological abuse.
It was learned from BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that those repatriated on April 4, 2024 were four males and two females who all left as tourists in 2023.
Tansingco lamented that despite the numerous warnings about the prevalence of said scam, many Filipinos still attempted to venture out to work illegally in the said region.
“Stop risking your life for these too good to be true job offers,” warned Tansingco. “Many have already suffered, do not let yourself be the next victim,” he stressed.
It can be recalled that the BI first sounded the alarm on the said modus in 2022. The Interpol recently raised its concern on gangs and scammers in Southeast Asia involved in online romance scam centers, many of its workers are trafficked victims from the Philippines.
“Many countries have already agreed that this is a growing crisis, yet some Filipinos insist on departing as tourist to try out work offers they receive online, only to be duped into working in these scam hubs,” the BI chief said.
