24 Filipinos forced into Cambodia scam ops repatriated, BI says

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday reported another batch of repatriated Filipinos who were forced to work in scam operations in Cambodia over the weekend.

The group, composed of 24 Filipinos — nine men and 15 women — arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Saturday aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh.

According to the BI, the victims were recruited through social media with offers of jobs as customer service representatives earning up to USD 1,500 (around P85,000). However, they were paid only USD 300 (around P17,000) and forced to pose as love scammers targeting European men.

The victims said they endured verbal and physical abuse when they failed to meet quotas, and some were later sold to other companies. The BI also reported that one victim left the Philippines with his entire family for what was supposed to be a five-day holiday in Bangkok.

All 24 departed the country posing as tourists.

A day later, immigration officers intercepted two more trafficking victims attempting to board an AirAsia flight to Thailand. They initially claimed to be traveling for leisure but later admitted they had been offered jobs as encoders.

The two intercepted passengers were referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance.

At least two recruiters are now under investigation for facilitating the victims’ departure, while authorities are also looking into possible collusion with personnel involved.