DFA warns Pinoys of human trafficking through social media

The Department of Foreign Affairs has reminded Filipinos who intend to work abroad to be wary of individuals, manpower agencies or recruitment agencies who offer employment in Dubai or in any other place through social media following numerous cases of human trafficking.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the DFA said that in 2018 alone, 17 cases of human trafficking were handled by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

Among them was a trafficking victim detained at Basra Prison in Iraq for the last three months who was released just Wednesday for deportation.

Two more Filipinos were secured, while 10 other trafficking victims have been under the Embassy's custody since January this year.

According to the DFA, the victims were trafficked from Dubai to Iraq from July 4 to December 22 last year.

Citing information from the Embassy, the DFA said that trafficking syndicates persuade their victims through social media by offering to advance their travel cost to Dubai where they would supposedly work in high-paying jobs.

The victims then enter Dubai using tourist visas where they will work without pay supposedly as part of their "training."

When their visas are about to expire, the victims are told to accept jobs in Iraq, otherwise they would be required to pay US$3,000 to the syndicates for their supposed deployment expenses.

The victims are then trafficked through Erbil in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and smuggled to Baghdad or Basra, the DFA said.

Because their visas from Erbil will not be valid outside the Kurdistan Region, the victims are transferred from various vehicles at least five times throughout the entire trip to avoid getting caught.

The victims, the DFA said, may be suffer molestation and maltreatment during the trip, and they may suffer more when they get employed.

"The Embassy reminds Filipinos that a deployment ban remains in effect over Iraq. It also warns Filipinos who enter Iraq without visas that they face imprisonment and hefty penalties if caught," the DFA said.

"The Embassy further advises Filipinos who want to work abroad to first check the job offers with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration," it added.

At the same time, the DFA also advised Filipino workers to follow pre-departure procedures implemented by Philippine immigration authorities to ensure their safety and prevent illegal recruitment, people smuggling, human trafficking and as well as of internal organs. —Erwin Colcol/LBG, GMA News