Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 19) — Philippine authorities are working on the repatriation of eight overseas Filipino workers who were lured to work as crypto scammers in Cambodia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.
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“Our embassy in Phnom Penh has officially requested the DFA for funding for financial assistance for the Filipinos and also for the tickets, so hopefully that means that pretty soon they’ll be going home,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
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Months after Sen. Risa Hontiveros revealed the alleged scheme of Chinese syndicates recruiting Filipinos to be crypto scammers in Myanmar, she again exposed on Wednesday another possible human trafficking scheme in Cambodia.
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According to one of the victims named “Miles,” Filipinos who were lured to work in Cambodia were initially offered call center jobs, but ended up being forced to scam citizens from the United States and Canada.
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If the workers are unable to get clients, they will be forced to work more than 16 hours a day, with some even getting electrocuted.
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De Vega said the victims are currently with Cambodian police as authorities there are also investigating the matter. He also said he hopes the victims will be transferred to the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh within 24 hours.
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Given the nature of the scheme, the DFA official said it is possible that the cases in Cambodia and Myanmar are connected.
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He noted that this issue does not only happen in the two countries but also in Laos.
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“This may be just the tip of the iceberg, there may be more cases because a lot of Filipinos who are brought there actually do continue working and do not indicate that they intend to go home, but some (who) are subjected to abuse have to be brought home,” De Vega said.
“Outrageous”
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Meanwhile, Hontiveros said it was “outrageous” the trafficked Filipinos were held hostage “by various constraints.”
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“While I thank the embassy in Phnom Penh for their interventions, I call on the DFA once more to facilitate the speedy repatriation of the Filipino trafficking survivors detained in Phnom Penh,” she said in a statement.
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She said the topic of funding of Assistance to Nationals would be included in the next Senate hearing. Hontiveros is a member of several Senate committees, among them the Committee on Migrant Workers.
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“We have the funds, why are we not using them to save our citizens as quickly as possible? Kung may legal na gusot, hindi ba may legal assistance fund din na galing sa gobyerno para sa mga Pilipino sa labas ng bansa?” she said.
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