By Joyce Ann Rocamora | Philippine News Agency
Myanmar has released 78 Filipinos who were detained for immigration-related offenses after being trafficked for employment in scam hubs in the country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday night said all nationals were employed in scam centers in Myanmar and had been serving sentences for illegal entry and residency.
“The Department expresses its appreciation to Myanmar authorities for this compassionate and humanitarian gesture, made during the Myanmar New Year (Thingyan), which reflects the goodwill between Myanmar and the Philippines,” it said in a statement.
The Philippine Embassy in Yangon, it said, is currently facilitating the “prompt, safe and orderly repatriation of the 78 Filipinos to the Philippines, in coordination with Myanmar authorities.”
“The Department reaffirms its foreign policy pillar of protecting Filipino nationals overseas, in collaboration with the Department of Migrant Workers, and will continue to work with relevant law enforcement agencies toward the prosecution of illegal recruiters of Filipinos trafficked for illegal jobs abroad,” the DFA added.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier warned Filipinos against illegal “backdoor” exit schemes amid the continued repatriation of trafficking victims.
Recently, a 24-year-old Filipino woman was successfully repatriated after being coerced into working as a love scam operator in Myanmar.
The victim departed the country on May 31 last year via boat from Tawi-Tawi, passing through Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuala Lumpur before reaching Phnom Penh and Bavet in Cambodia.
She disclosed that she was recruited online through Telegram for a supposed receptionist position in Myanmar, with a promised salary ranging from USD900 to USD1,200.
She was later sold to another company, where she was again forced to engage in scam activities for additional months.
The victim said she traveled by boat with several unidentified Filipinos who departed for Myanmar through illegal routes. (PNA)
