Six Filipinos were able to flee their employers in Laos after being trafficked to engage in illegal work by syndicates, said the Bureau of Immigration on Saturday.
The incident shared by Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco is part of a string of human trafficking occurrences that were reported over the past months in Southeast Asian countries.
Tansingco disclosed that the repatriated Filipinos arrived via Philippine Airlines flight PR741 last April 6 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.
The victims, who left the country on separate occasions, were recruited to supposedly work as chat support agents in Thailand. From Thailand, they were instead brought to Laos where they forced to work for syndicates.
They were forced to work under a company where they served as love scammers targeting Asians.
The scheme was to look for possible clients who they can dupe into falling in love with them and then encouraging them to invest in their pseudo company.
The victims further shared that they were sold three times from one company to another before they managed to reach out to the Philippine Embassy through online communication.
6 Filipino trafficking victims in Laos arrive home — BI
Tansingco then lamented the current human trafficking issue in some Southeast Asian countries. “Imagine being sold like inanimate objects,” he said. “These transnational crimes are becoming more and more alarming, and I call on everyone to remain vigilant,” the BI Chief added.
Meanwhile, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco has raised concerns over the rise of human trafficking cases in the Philippines. He has urged Filipinos to be cautious of job opportunities, particularly those found on social media.
Tansingco’s remarks come amid a growing number of incidents involving the exploitation of Filipinos for forced labor and sexual purposes.
“These transnational crimes are becoming more and more alarming, and I call on everyone to remain vigilant,” Tansingco said.
“It appears that these Africans were victimized by a trafficking syndicate that uses the Philippines as a transit point for smuggling illegal aliens to other countries,” he added.
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