Three alleged human traffickers are facing charges after their repatriation from Cambodia, following a successful investigation led by the National Bureau of Investigation–International Airport Investigation Division (NBI-IAID).
On 24 April, the suspects were formally charged, based on complaints from seven Filipino victims who had been trafficked to Myanmar.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed that the charges followed a series of horrific abuses experienced by the victims, who had been promised jobs but were forced into cyber scam activities under severe conditions.
According to the BI, these victims were subjected to physical abuse, denied fair pay, and even forced to work while being locked in scam compounds.
BI Commissioner Atty. Joel Anthony Viado emphasized that the charges align with the government’s commitment to protecting Filipinos from modern-day slavery, following directives from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to combat international crime and trafficking.
“We stand with the President in ensuring the safety of every Filipino,” Viado said.
The victims were initially recruited online and told to travel either as tourists or pretend to be overseas Filipino workers.
Once they arrived in Myanmar, their nightmare began.
They were locked in facilities, electrocuted, assaulted and given impossible daily targets for scam activities. They also faced psychological distress, being deprived of rest and basic rights.
Despite the threats and intimidation from their traffickers, the victims eventually found the courage to testify, with support from the Philippine government and agencies such as the Department of Foreign Affairs, Overseas Workers Welfare Association, Department of Migrant Workers, Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia, which helped facilitate their repatriation.
“It’s hard to speak out when the people behind this are powerful, but we are here to fight for you,” Viado said. “There’s no need to remain silent — where there is pain, there is justice, and where there is deceit, there is punishment.”
The case was filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Pasay, and the BI thanked the Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for their strong support and determination in pursuing justice for the victims.
“We are all in this fight together,” Viado concluded, saluting the collective efforts to end human trafficking.