MANILA, Philippines — A total of 52 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking have been repatriated from Laos, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Wednesday.
In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Wednesday, DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said that among the 75 OFWs who were victims of illegal recruitment in Laos, 52 have already been brought back to the Philippines.
Olalia said that illegal recruiters deceived the victims by offering jobs as customer service relations officers, but instead exploited them.
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“Sila po ay binigyan ng offer na sila ay maging customer service relations officer sa bansang Laos, pagtapos, pagdating doon, sila pala ay bibiktimahin ng miyembro ng isang sindikato,” Olalia said during the interview.
(They were offered positions as customer service relations officers in Laos, but upon arrival, they were instead victimized by members of a syndicate.)
Olalia highlighted that the DMW is helping the repatriated OFWs in filing affidavits to identify the suspects.
He added that the agency is providing psychosocial, legal, and financial help to the victims.
Additionally, Olalia said that there are ongoing efforts between the DMW, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and other members of the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) regarding the crackdown on illegal companies in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone.
“Ang komunikasyon natin ay open sa lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno na member po ng IACAT, kasama na po of course ang DFA,” Olalia said.
(Our communication is open with all government agencies that are members of IACAT, including, of course, the DFA.)
He noted that since there is no migrant workers office in the region, the agency is relying on support from the DFA and IACAT in addressing the issue.
Olalia then urged individuals seeking work abroad to verify job offers with the DMW to avoid illegal recruitment schemes.
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“Pinakamainam po [na] malaman namin ‘yung mga offers na ‘yan. Iba-validate po namin at tutulungan po namin kayo doon po sa mga lehitimong employers over the world na kung saan pwede kayong magtrabaho nang mahusay,” Olalia concluded.
(It is best to let us know about those job offers. We will validate them and assist you in finding legitimate employers worldwide where you can work effectively.) — Arianne Denisse Cagsawa, INQUIRER.net intern