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DMW: Help will continue for human trafficking victims in Myanmar post-earthquake
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Tuesday that Philippine authorities will continue to assist Filipinos in Myanmar who fell victim to scam hubs, even in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that rocked the country last month.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said that they are working with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to plan the repatriation of the remaining Filipino human trafficking victims in Myanmar.
“Yes, meron pa ring bilang na naiwan do’n. In fact, nung tumama ‘yung lindol dun ay we checked on at least anim na nandoon sa government shelters sa Myawaddy. Ligtas naman sila, medyo malayo sa epicenter,” Cacdac said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.
(Yes, there are few Filipino victims left there. In fact, when the earthquake hit Myanmar, we checked on at least six victims who were there in the government shelters in Myawaddy. They are safe and were far from the epicenter when the earthquake hit.)
“Meron kasing ayaw ring umuwi for one reason or another, kahit na sila’y biktima ng human trafficking. Pero bagama’t ganon, bukas pa rin ang ating serbisyo,” he added.
(There are Filipinos who still don't want to go home for one reason or another, even if they are victims of human trafficking. But despite that, our services remain open.)
The victims said that they were convinced to depart the country illegally via the backdoor, offering them work abroad as customer service representatives. However, when they ended up in Myanmar, they were abused and forced to work as scammers.
Cacdac said that there is no deployment ban in Myanmar following reports of human trafficking, but he reminded Filipinos not to believe “too good to be true” offers of supposed recruiters.
“Kung gusto magtrabaho sa isang ASEAN country katulad ng Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, o Myanmar, kailangan may work permit bago pa man umalis at syempre ang recruiter ay dapat lisensyado ng DMW,” he explained.
(If you want to work in an ASEAN country like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, or Myanmar, you must have a work permit before leaving the country and of course, your recruiter must be licensed by the DMW first.)
Apart from the financial assistance, the DMW vowed to provide legal assistance and reintegration programs for the human trafficking victims who were repatriated last month.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI), meanwhile, had ordered the relief of seven of its personnel suspected to be involved in the illegal exit of the Filipinos.
Authorities also arrested two individuals identified as alias ‘Fiona’ and alias ‘Jon Jon’ in two separate operations for their alleged involvement in the recruitment of Filipinos rescued in scam hubs in Myawaddy, Myanmar. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News
