DFA working on repatriating Pinoys in Southeast Asia alleged to be human trafficking victims

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said it is doing all it can to bring home Filipinos in Southeast Asia who are alleged to have been victimized by human trafficking syndicates.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs continues to exert all efforts for the repatriation of Filipino victims of illegal trafficking in Southeast Asia," it said in a statement.

"This includes the situation in Myanmar, where the DFA is coordinating with local law enforcement officials for the repatriation of a number of Filipinos who were rescued by Myanmar authorities from their worksites in Myawaddy," it added.

The DFA said one of the Filipinos it is assisting is Kiela Samson who is in Myanmar.

"Among the Filipinos whose repatriation we are working on is Ms. Kiela Samson, whose family members are now directly in touch with our Embassy in Yangon," it said.

Meanwhile, the DFA reminded Filipinos who intend to work abroad to go through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration as OFWs.

"While we will continue to do what we can, we reiterate the call of all Philippine government agencies for Filipinos wishing to work abroad to follow POEA regulations and be duly registered as OFWs instead of leaving the country as tourists," it said.

"Recruiters who promise Filipinos jobs abroad, if they pretend to be tourists and evade our controls, are just leading our kababayans to dangerous situations where it may be very difficult to secure their safety and assist them in returning home," the DFA warned.

Last November, at least 47 individuals who were apparently victims of human trafficking reached out to the DFA to seek help for their repatriation, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during a Senate hearing.

Senator Risa Hontiveros bared then the case of 12 OFWs who were rescued from a Chinese syndicate based in Myanmar through the help of a non-governmental organization and the DFA. The 12 Filipinos were recruited as customer service representatives (CSR) or data encoders who were supposed to work in Thailand but ended up being forced to work as scammers in Myanmar. —KG, GMA Integrated News