OFWs starved, forced to work as scammers
BUREAU of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco appealed to families of aspiring overseas workers to stop encouraging anyone to work abroad to prevent them from falling prey to scam syndicates.
Tansingco made the appeal after the latest batch of repatriates from Myanmar arrived last July 13 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on board a Philippine Airlines flight from Bangkok.
Tansingco said that the repatriates suffered from severe hunger and anxiety after they were forced to work as online scammers in Myanmar.
To be released, each of the victims had to pay $11,000 to the company.
“This is already kidnapping and forced labor,” said Tansingco. “What’s happening now is some of the worst kinds of trafficking we’ve seen.
Apart from being trafficked and forced to work, they are forced to become scammers as well,” he added.
The victims were 4 females and 4 males, all in their 20s and 30s.
“Of the 8 victims, 5 were traveling with family members in the guise of going abroad for a vacation,” said Tansingco.
He then appealed to families to protect their loved ones by ensuring that they do not fall prey to these illegal syndicates.
The victims were assisted by the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration after immigration authorities gave clearance for their release.
