The Bureau of Immigration (BI) of the Philippines recently issued a warning about the increasing number of human trafficking cases, noting that a large number of victims are being illegally smuggled out of the country and deceived into working for overseas companies similar to "POGO" under illegal conditions.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated the government's commitment to crack down on human trafficking and promised to protect Filipino overseas workers from exploitation. Despite the immigration bureau's efforts to strengthen border control, the agency stated that it alone cannot completely prevent illegal exits, and cooperation from local governments and law enforcement agencies is crucial.
Joel Anthony Viado, the Director of the Immigration Bureau, revealed that three Filipino citizens—two women and one man—were trafficked and have been repatriated from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, under the escort of a Philippine Airlines flight. They were deceived by a human smuggling group into engaging in "romance scams" and suffered abuse for two months.
It was reported that the three were recruited through social media by fellow Filipinos with promises of a customer service representative (CSR) position in Cambodia with a monthly salary of up to $1,000. However, upon arrival, they discovered that the so-called "customer service job" was actually an online scam targeting emotions, and the actual salary was only $300.
When they attempted to resign, they were beaten by their Chinese employer, their mobile phones were confiscated, and they were eventually abandoned in a strange location. Helpless, they sought assistance from the Philippine Embassy and were eventually rescued and repatriated.
An investigation by the Immigration Bureau revealed that the passports of the three victims had no legal exit records. They disclosed that they had traveled illegally from Jolo Island in Sulu Province to Sabah, Malaysia, by boat, where their passports were forged with Philippine exit stamps, and then they traveled from Sabah to Kuala Lumpur, and then through Bangkok to Cambodia.
The forensic laboratory of the Immigration Bureau confirmed that the exit stamps on the victims' passports were forged, further exposing the trafficking group's method of using backdoor routes to evade regulation.
Viado emphasized that although the Immigration Bureau is intensifying border security, the agency alone cannot effectively curb human trafficking. He called for local government units (LGUs) and law enforcement agencies at all levels to enhance monitoring, especially in areas prone to illegal exits, to prevent more Filipinos from becoming victims.
"Human traffickers use illegal routes to evade the scrutiny of the Immigration Bureau, so we need close cooperation from local governments and law enforcement agencies to strengthen monitoring and crackdown efforts in high-risk areas," Viado stated.
Additionally, he revealed that the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) has recently conducted in-depth studies on "backdoor routes" to develop more effective protective measures and reduce the occurrence of human trafficking cases.
Relevant government departments stated that they will continue to strengthen international cooperation and enhance communication with the main inflow countries of victims to improve the efficiency of combating human trafficking and severely punish criminal organizations involved in illegal recruitment and cross-border trafficking.
