346 possible Filipino trafficking victims repatriated from Myanmar scam hubs

Over 300 Filipinos who are possible victims of Human Trafficking from scam hubs in Myanmar have been successfully repatriated back to the Philippines. 

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said a total of of 346 potential Filipino Human Trafficking victims were rescued from back-to-back raids conducted in Myanmar scam hubs.

A total of two groups were repatriated, having come from scam hubs in Myawaddy, Myanmar.

The first batch of 219 individuals were noted to have illegally entered Thailand after the raids. The second batch of 127 individuals were sheltered by non-governmental organizations and later handed to Myanmar under the Thai-Myanmar Government-to-Government Repatriation Protocol.

Both groups were safely repatriated and provided with the necessary assistance by the relevant agencies.

"After two weeks of coordination with Thai authorities and our Embassy team led by Consul General Pabal Paredes, the 346 Filipinos were transported via a ten-bus convoy to Bangkok and flown home through a Philippine government-chartered flight," said Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.

Assistance for the victims will continue with reintegration programs, post-arrival financial assistance, and legal procedures.

Meanwhile, Cacdac noted that there had been 1,910 Filipino human trafficking victims repatriated from the Philippines’ neighboring countries since 2022.

“Most were deceived through online job scams and ended up exploited in scam hubs," he said.

“We continue to uphold our goal of protecting the vulnerable and preventing all forms of human trafficking, and we appeal to our fellow citizens to help prevent others from falling into similar situations," OIC-Secretary of Justice Fredderick Vida added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News