2 Filipinos stuck in troubled Myanmar

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is still trying to assist two Filipinos who were stranded by hostilities in Myanmar. “Those who were trapped in the fighting are in a place where they were not granted the authority to work. The only people who can go to Myanmar are those who have already worked in Yangon,” Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said in a television interview on Wednesday. The DFA said four other Filipinos caught in the fighting have already been able to exit the country. The DFA said the six Filipinos, including the two who were left behind, were among the human trafficking victims allegedly forced to work as scammers. De Vega said the two Filipinos were not able to evacuate from Myanmar to China because they are wanted in China in connection with their alleged illegal operations that have affected several Chinese citizens. According to Thai foreign ministry, hundreds of foreigners, most from neighboring countries, have been trapped by the fighting, particularly in Shan State on the northeastern border with China and Kayah State, on the eastern border with Thailand. This came as an alliance of ethnic minority insurgents allied with a pro-democracy parallel civilian government launched an offensive late last month in the biggest challenge to the ruling military since it seized power from elected leaders in a 2021 coup. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted a government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the 2021 coup, ending a decade of tentative democratic reform and triggering widespread protests. —TINA G. SANTOS