CLOSE to 200 Filipino human trafficking victims from Cambodia have arrived home, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Thursday.
In a Facebook post, the DMW said the 191 Filipinos returned via a Philippine government-chartered flight which landed Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac was joined by other government officials in welcoming the repatriates, who were assured of assistance and support.
Apart from the DMW, the team that welcomed the returning Filipinos were from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Health, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration, the Philippine National Police’s Women’s and Children Protection Center, Anti-Cybercrime Group, International Organization for Migration, Blas F. Ople Policy Center and the National Bureau of Investigation.
The DMW said the Filipinos came from various regions in Cambodia — Phnom Penh (169), Pailin (13), Koh Kong (3), Mondulkiri (2), Svay Rieng (3) and Siem Reap (1).
They were escorted by DMW Assistant Secretary Venecio Legaspi, who is leading the DMW Rapid Response Team to assist distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are victims of abusive situations.
The repatriation was also facilitated by the DMW Migrant Workers Office in Singapore and the DFA, represented by the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh led by Ambassador Flerida Ann Camille Mayo.
The DMW, as a leading agency member of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), reiterated its warning to OFWs and others who are seeking jobs “to stay alert against face-to-face and online tactics used by illegal recruiters and syndicates in order to prevent being trapped in exploitative or illegal employment abroad.” “We have long been warning the public against illegal recruitment, together with the IACAT. Our reminder is simple: if it does not go through the DMW, that is the number one red flag. It means there is no licensed agency, or that the person you are dealing with operates only through Telegram, Facebook or other social media — clearly, that is a scam,” Cacdac said in a statement.
