The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Sunday that more than 200 Filipinos forced to work in a scamming hub in Myanmar will be repatriated this week.
In a radio interview, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs Eduardo de Vega said that a total of 206 Filipinos are scheduled to return home, with 30 arriving on Monday and the remaining 176 on Tuesday.
"By Wednesday, all 206 will have returned, and various government agencies will welcome them," De Vega said. “The Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking will conduct interviews with the victims to investigate illegal recruitment schemes and prevent similar cases in the future.”
He noted that around 50 more Filipinos are believed to be trapped in the scamming hub in Myanmar and are currently in the process of being rescued.
"We estimate at least 50 more Filipino workers are still in scam operations. We are coordinating with authorities to expedite their rescue, but the challenge is the sheer number of scam hubs, most of which are run by Chinese nationals and other foreign groups," he said.
According to De Vega, many of the victims of scamming farms were recruited online and misled with promises of legitimate jobs abroad, while some were not directly from the Philippines but from other countries such as Dubai and other parts of the Middle East.
"They are usually told they will work as customer service representatives or in computer-related jobs in Bangkok or Thailand," he explained.
Once they arrive in Thailand, they are picked up and taken on an eight-hour drive to the border, where they are smuggled into Myanmar.
De Vega noted that traffickers exploit the fact that Filipinos can enter Thailand without a visa under ASEAN agreements.
"They always declare Thailand as their destination. Since Filipinos can enter Thailand visa-free as tourists, they manage to travel easily," he said.
However, Philippine immigration authorities have been actively monitoring such cases.
"The Bureau of Immigration has been offloading many passengers, especially those who raise red flags—such as first-time travelers with blank passports," De Vega said.
"Immigration officers know that Filipinos who travel for leisure usually go to Hong Kong, Singapore, or Korea first, not Bangkok. That’s why they become suspicious," he added.
He also noted that some of the victims also leave the country through a backdoor channel in Mindanao, avoiding standard immigration checks.