Four Pinoys trafficked in Myanmar arrive at NAIA

Lina Portman3 days ago

0 1 minute read

BI chief announces repatriation of four Pinoys after being trafficked by boat. (JERRY S. TAN)

FOUR Filipino returnees from Myanmar arrived at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after leaving the country under the guise of tourists.

The Immigration Protection and Border Control Section (I-PROBES), headed by Bienvenido Castillo III, reported to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco that the latest group of returnees, consisting of two women and two men, arrived on June 26.

“We are again grappling with the recurring scheme that has victimized many unsuspecting Filipinos, but we will not stop enforcing strict departure protocols and launching a strong communication campaign aimed at informing the public to combat this recurring pattern,” the BI chief said.

All aged around 30, these victims are said to have arrived in the Philippines aboard a Thai Airways flight from Myanmar. All four admitted to leaving the country disguised as tourists for Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan, but were transported to Myanmar by boat.

According to Castillo, the victims admitted that they were initially promised jobs at a call center, but were forced to work as customer service representatives involved in online scams, like the returnees previous ones.

The victims, he said, said they wanted to resign but were forced to pay heavy fines before being released. Two of them were denied their final salary, while the other two were forced to pay RMB 5,000, or more than P127,000.

“The Filipino recruiter is not a recruiter. It is sad to hear that our own Kababayan is facilitating the trafficking of other Pinoys. Dinadala does not want the baby to get sick,” Tansingco lamented.