No crackdown on Filipinos in Japan, SoKor – DFA

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday denied reports of a crackdown on Filipinos in Japan and South Korea.

“We have not received reports of crackdown in Japan and Sokor,” DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said in a text message to journalists.

Earlier, Migrante International  – a global alliance of overseas Filipinos – expressed concern over the reported crackdown and mass deportation of undocumented Filipinos in the two Asian countries.

Hernandez clarified that the 75 undocumented Filipinos, including eight children, were deported from Japan last July 6 for violating immigration laws.

“The 75 Filipino returnees from Japan were among the over 200 Filipinos in immigration centers apprehended over time for violating immigration laws,” he said.

Hernandez said the number of detained Filipinos increased over time because they refused to be deported, as he noted that before 2013, Japan did not deport immigration violators without their consent.

He said these countries are merely undertaking routine immigration law enforcement activities, and the deportation and repatriation of undocumented foreigners are not focused on Filipinos alone.

The DFA official urged the returnees to avail of the reintegration programs being offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).