The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has alerted anew Filipinos wishing to work abroad against human trafficking syndicates based in Dubai that have been illegally deploying Filipinos to Iraq.
The DFA reissued its warning after two overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad from the southern province of Basra, Iraq with the help of anti-human trafficking group.
“Trafficking syndicates have been luring victims by offering to advance the cost of their travel to Dubai where high-paying jobs are supposed to be waiting for them,” the DFA said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the DFA, illegal recruiters let their victims enter Dubai using tourist visas and made to work without pay supposedly as part of their “training.”
The DFA said victims are then trafficked through Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and then smuggled to Baghdad or Basra.
Once their visas are about to expire, the victims are told to accept jobs in Iraq or pay the syndicates 3,000 US dollars supposedly to refund what the syndicates purportedly spent for the OFWs’ deployment.
The Philippine Embassy in Baghdad reminded Filipinos that a deployment ban remains in effect over Iraq, and warned that Filipinos who enter Iraq without visas will face imprisonment and hefty penalties, if caught.
“Filipinos who want to work abroad to first check job offers with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration,” the DFA said.