DFA to repatriate over 100 Filipino crypto farm victims in Myanmar

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is working to assist over 100 Filipinos who fell victim to human trafficking and crypto farms in Myanmar.

“The DFA, with our missions in Bangkok and Yangon, including all partner agencies, are all hands on deck to promptly resolving reported cases of Human Trafficking Victims (HTVs) on the border regions of Myanmar and Thailand under the One Country Team Approach,” said DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega in a statement on Friday.

"We wish to affirm that the Philippine Embassies in Yangon and Bangkok have 24/7 hotline numbers and FB pages/messengers that Filipinos in distress can reach to seek help, especially Filipino HTVs,” he added.

He said that the DFA continues to coordinate with authorities in Thailand and Myanmar.

Meanwhile, he advised aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) not to take jobs in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, without passing through the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

“It is illegal to come to Thailand on a tourist visa (or under our ASEAN no-visa policy for ASEAN citizens) and work WITHOUT a proper work visa first,” de Vega said.

“We are working with Thailand and other regional countries to combat these scams,” he added.

De Vega also shared that 21 Filipinos have been safely repatriated from Myanmar via Thailand, while 4 others are waiting for the go-signal of Thai authorities to return.

According to an article by Bangkok Post on Wednesday, more than 7,000 foreign workers from 28 different countries were waiting for repatriation in Myanmar after falling victim to scam hub operations.

It was believed that the scam operations were run by Chinese and had been preying on victims from China, Thailand, and other countries for years. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VAL, GMA Integrated News