DOH provides psychological, medical aid to human trafficking victims

The Department of Health (DOH) said it has been monitoring the medical and psychological needs of the human trafficking victims who returned to the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Assisted by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the first batch of Filipinos repatriated from Myanmar—reportedly victims of human trafficking—arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday morning.

The second batch, composed of 176 repatriates, arrived on Wednesday morning.

DOH personnel from San Lorenzo Ruiz General Hospital, Las Piñas General Hospital, and the National Center for Mental Health provided medical and psychological assistance to the 176 repatriated individuals.

According to DMW, the victims were recruited through WhatApp, Facebook, and Telegram, initially promised jobs as customer sales representatives in Myanmar—only to be exploited to work as online scammers.