BUREAU of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco appealed to families of aspiring OFWs to stop escorting relatives to work for scam syndicates.
Tansingco made the statement 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 shared that the repatriates were forced to work as online scammers in Myanmar, and faced hunger, physical abuse, and threats.
To be released, a victim even had to pay $11,000 to the company.
The victims were made up of 4 females and 4 males, all in their 20’s and 30’s.
Of the 8 victims, Tansingco said 5 were traveling with family members in the guise of going abroad for a vacation.
The victims were assisted by the NAIA task force against trafficking, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) after Immigration clearance.
Tangsingco described the crime as kidnapping and forced labor.
The victims are made to become scammers apart from being trafficked and forced to work.
According to BI, this is the worst kind of trafficking that the agency had seen.
“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 made to become scammers as well,” Norman Tansingo, Commissioner BI, said.
Tansingo then appealed to families to protect their loved ones by ensuring that they do not fall prey to these illegal syndicates.
“Let us protect our families and not bring them into danger.”
“We’ve seen so many of our compatriots victimized by these syndicates, do not be an instrument to bring them to situations that may jeopardize their safety,” Tansingo added.
