June 1, 2023 | 8:09 pm
TWO women victims of a human trafficking scheme, wherein they were instructed to pose as seafarers but were bound to work as call center agents in Laos, were recently intercepted by authorities at the Clark International Airport, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Thursday
“The women initially claimed they were sea-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) recruited to work in Thailand, and presented spurious documents to mislead immigration officers,” the BI said in a statement.
The immigration bureau earlier said there was an increase in Filipinos being trafficked to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, who were forced to work as call center agents for online scam operations.
“The modus operandi here is for the victims to initially fly to Thailand where they would then board their connecting flight to Laos,” Immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco said.
The victims were turned over to the country’s council against trafficking, which will provide legal assistance to pursue lawsuits against the recruiters.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last month ordered the anti-trafficking council to thwart the “business of human trafficking” with the private sector.
He cited the need to maintain the Philippines’ Tier 1 status, which means the country fully complies with minimum standards against trafficking.
The United States Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Office conducts a yearly assessment to monitor the efforts of all countries in fighting human trafficking. It provides each country with a grade according to a three-tier scale.
In the first two months of the year, 57 departures from the country’s international airports were tagged as possible cases of human trafficking, based on BI data. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
