DFA: Undetermined number of Pinoys still trapped in SE Asia scam centers

An undetermined number of Filipinos remain trapped in various scam farms across Southeast Asia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday as it assured that government efforts to free them are underway.

"The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs continues to receive reports of alleged Filipino human trafficking victims still trapped inside different scam centers in Southeast Asia," the DFA said. 

Meanwhile, the DFA called on relatives of Filipinos who may be employed in underground scam hubs operating mainly in the border in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia to come forward and provide verified information on their family member.

"We remain committed to the rescue and repatriation of all Filipino that are working in illegal call centers in the region," added the DFA.

Traffickers in the past three years have exploited Filipinos and other nationals in forced labor in online scam operation facilities, which have expanded rapidly in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

Hannah Lizette Manalili, executive director of the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking, on Tuesday urged Southeast Asian countries to do more to combat the rise of trafficking of individuals who are being recruited illegally to work in scam farms and enhance a regional exchange of information to effectively address the problem.

ASEAN groups the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. 

The Philippines has been identified as a source country for gambling and crime-related human trafficking in Southeast Asia, according to Manalili, but he said the government is actively taking steps to curb the problem.

The DFA said it has instructed its diplomatic posts within the ASEAN region to "devote efforts and resources in extending all possible assistance" to distressed people while closely engaging concerned authorities of their host countries for their cooperation.

"We call on all our kababayans, including our Filipino communities abroad, to support all efforts to prevent all modes of recruitment and victimization of our Filipino nationals in schemes that lead to forced criminality and participation in scamming operations," the DFA said.

The United Nations has expressed alarm over the thousands of trafficked individuals in the region, saying the situation has “reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis.” 

UN human rights rapporteurs Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally, and Vitit Muntarbhorn in their report released in May found that thousands of released victims remain stranded in inhumane conditions at the Myanmar-Thailand border.

In the same month, Philippine officials were able to safely bring home over 200 Filipino alleged human trafficking victims from illegal scam centers in Myawaddy, Myanmar.

Many victims of scam farm operations who were initially promised legal jobs are kidnapped and sold to other fraudulent operations, the UN rapporteurs said. 

The DFA advised all Filipinos to go through proper foreign employment procedures established by the Department of Migrant Workers before departing the country for overseas employment. —VAL, GMA Integrated News

Filipinos may reach out to the Philippine Embassies in Yangon and Bangkok through the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) hotline +95 998 521 0991, email at yangonpe.atn@dfa.gov.ph, or through the official Philippine Embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger, and Bangkok's ATN hotline +66 81989 7116 or email through bangkok.pe@dfa.gov.ph.