Twenty-one Filipino victims of human trafficking have returned home after enduring months of forced labor in Myanmar, where they were made to carry out online scams under brutal and inhuman conditions.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday, June 30, the victims arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on June 25.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado said the repatriated Filipinos were lured by false promises, stripped of their dignity, and forced to work under inhumane conditions.
Following their arrival at the airport, the victims shared harrowing accounts of deception and abuse. One of the female victims said she was coerced into performing online romance scams targeting Americans, working more than 14 hours daily without rest days — and never receiving her promised salary.
A male victim recounted physical beatings and threats of electrocution whenever he failed to meet quotas, living under constant fear and surveillance.
The BI said many of the victims responded to bogus job offers on social media, including a $1,000-a-month Customer Service Representative post in Thailand. While two of the victims were overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who were recruited through a third country, the others left the Philippines posing as tourists.
All repatriated individuals have since been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to build up cases against those behind the schemes.
Viado added that the BI will strengthen its coordination with other government agencies to ensure that those responsible are identified and brought to justice. (Jeffrey Damicog)
