DFA: 10 more Pinoys back from Cambodia ‘scam jobs’

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said 10 more Filipinos were safely repatriated from dubious job schemes in Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia.

The repatriation of the Filipino victims was made possible through the assistance of Cambodian law enforcement authorities and the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh.

Representatives from government agencies, including the DFA, Department of Migrant Workers, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, were at the airport to personally receive the 10 repatriates and provide them with assistance.

In addition to other identified needs, the Philippine Embassy distributed care packages to them and paid for their repatriation flight using the DFA’s Assistance to Nationals (ATN) Fund.

“Upon the 10 Filipinos’ arrival at the Immigration headquarters in Phnom Penh yesterday after a nine-hour journey from Oddar Meanchey, the ATN team of the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh delivered to the group hot meals and a fresh batch of care packages,” the department said in a statement.

“This latest series of repatriation of Filipinos was undertaken on the back of long-standing friendly ties between the Philippines and Cambodia,” it added.

The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia expressed its gratitude to the Royal Government of Cambodia for the “favorable attention given to the Philippine government’s representations for the 10 Filipinos to be brought home to their families.”

The department also renewed its call for the public to be cautious about deceptive overseas job opportunities peddled on social media.

“While always ready to extend prompt Assistance-to-Nationals service, the Philippine Foreign Service urges prudence and discernment among Filipino online jobseekers,” it said.

“Let us help prevent our fellow Filipinos from falling into harm,” it added.