Most Filipino trafficking victims end up in 4 Southeast Asian countries

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has expressed concern over the growing number of Filipinos being repatriated from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand after they allegedly fell victim to human traffickers and were forced to work in scam hubs operating in these countries.

“At present, there are still 148 pending cases of human trafficking victims in these countries,” DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said in a press briefing organized by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) on Monday.

Based on data from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking, the Philippines has repatriated a total of 695 Filipinos since the start of the year, mostly from the four Southeast Asian countries.

READ: DFA: Filipinos repatriated from SE Asian trafficking hubs on the rise

Most recently, the government repatriated 120 distressed overseas Filipinos who were possible victims of trafficking and related crimes from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Of the total, the Iacat said that 77 were rescued from Laos, 37 from Myanmar and five from Cambodia.

Fake job offers

Many of the victims were reportedly deceived by fraudulent online job offers, while others were promised high-paying jobs but ended up working under abusive and exploitative conditions.

The Iacat also cited cases among the Myanmar repatriates, including one woman who was forced by her employer to abort her child in order to keep working, and another who was raped by her Chinese team leader.

Escalona said the DFA is undertaking diplomatic interventions through bilateral and multilateral talks with Southeast Asian neighbors on how to address the transnational crime.

Assistant Migrant Workers Secretary Jerome Alcantara explained that the concentration of repatriates from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand is linked to the presence of scam hubs.

“In areas with problems in law and order and insurgency, perpetrators take advantage of the situation to evade protection and law enforcement actions. Many are still trapped in these scam hubs, and it’s not something you can just walk into and immediately pull out our citizens,” Alcantara said, citing the difficult situation on the ground that requires tremendous effort from the government to address.

Limited power

Iacat Executive Director Hannah Lizette Manalili, on the other hand, pointed out the government’s limited power once victims are already outside the Philippines.

While bilateral and multilateral engagements are ongoing with host countries, Manalili said the Iacat is also coordinating with its counterpart bodies abroad, as they are the ones “who understand the issue of human trafficking in these scam hubs.”

“Although the process is quite lengthy, that is the reality. This is why we are strengthening prevention, because it is much harder to go after perpetrators once they are outside the country,” she said.

Prevention comes in many forms—from awareness campaigns to partnerships with social media platforms to take down fraudulent job postings.

On the physical side, authorities led by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) are tasked to ensure that potential victims are intercepted through stringent vetting and screening processes.

In the same briefing, Immigration deputy spokesperson Melvin Mabulac said that of the recent 114 repatriates from Laos and Myanmar, four were believed to have exited the country through illegal backdoor routes, 53 were identified as overseas Filipino workers, while the remaining 57 posed as tourists.

Vigilance is of utmost importance, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado emphasized, citing several instances in which BI officers were able to stop passengers trying to leave the country under false pretenses. /cb

(2025/08/19-04:50)

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