EDITORIAL - How many more?

Usually it’s the Filipinos who are lured by the promise of jobs abroad and then roped into a criminal operation usually operated by a huge syndicate that makes them work long hours, gives them little or nothing at all, and won’t let them go until they have milked them for all their worth --if they let them go at all.

However, this is also happening here in the Philippines and it’s other foreign nationals coming in to fall victim to such operations.

According to police, they recently rescued over a thousand victims of human trafficking who were forced to work for a bogus call center operation in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

The victims were mostly Vietnamese but also included Chinese, Filipinos, Indonesians, Nepalese, Malaysians, Myanmarese, Thai, Taiwanese, and one Hong Konger. They were made to entice foreigners to invest in a bogus cryptocurrency scheme.

The modus is familiar. Victims are lured in by promises of work. Others are even promised free airfare and accommodation. Once they arrive they are taken to a place they can’t escape from, their passports seized, then practically held hostage.

Police added they have arrested the leaders of this operation who will face charges. Now the question is how many more similar operations are here in the Philippines?

We know how easy it is for some foreigners to enter the country without a trace. For a while all they needed to do was bribe someone in Immigration with money rolled up like sweet treat and they were in; the so-called “pastillas scheme.”

Now there are reports that even some airline personnel are doing their part in human smuggling. If they can let some people --vulnerable individuals who shouldn’t leave the country-- out without fuss, they can also let some people in the same way.

We also know there are too many of these so-called POGOs are here. Are we sure they are all legit gambling operations or are some of them scam operations in disguise?

Such operations are bad for our image as a country both as a tourism destination and a place where foreigners can find work.

Needless to say all illegal call center scam operations must be found and dismantled, their operators arrested and brought to justice, and victims repatriated. We would want authorities in other countries to do the same for Filipinos trapped in similar illegal operations abroad.