Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 27)— Four Filipinos who were forced to engage in online scam activities in Myanmar are now back in the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday.
The bureau said the victims arrived in Manila on Tuesday, Nov. 21, on a Thai Airways flight amid the crisis in Myanmar.
“Upon arriving, they were coerced into engaging in online scamming activities for an undisclosed Chinese company,” BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, adding “These individuals were subjected to physical abuse and poor working conditions.”
The victims left the country pretending to be tourists but then later revealed that they were convinced by their foreigner acquaintances to apply for work, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said.
Tansingco added that they were hired as customer service representatives which they saw in a Facebook post.
The BI also said that upon verification, the victims had no working visas and they were also not registered as OFWs in Laukkai, Myanmar.
It also said that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has declared Myanmar’s conflict at Crisis Alert Level 2 or the \”Restricted Phase.\”
READ: DFA eyes lowering Myanmar’s alert level to allow OFWs to return
\”This means that only documented Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are allowed to travel to Myanmar, with stringent protocols and safeguards in place,\” Tansingco said.
