Six trafficking victims arrive in Manila from Laos — Immigration bureau
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration said that six Filipinos who fled their employers in Laos after being trafficked to engage in illegal work by syndicates have arrived home.
In a statement Sunday, the bureau said Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the trafficking victims arrived in Manila last April 6.
The incident is part of a string of human trafficking occurrences reported over the past months in Southeast Asian countries, the BI chief added.
“The victims, who left the country on separate occasions were recruited to supposedly work as chat support agents in Thailand. From Thailand, they were instead brought to Laos where they [were] forced to work for syndicates,” BI said,
The bureau said the victims were forced in a love scam targeting Asians, where they look for possible clients to dupe them into falling in love with them and urging them to invest in their fake company.
The victims also said that they were sold three times to different companies before they were able to reach out to the Philippine Embassy through online communication.
Tangsingco said: “These transnational crimes are becoming more and more alarming, and I call on everyone to remain vigilant.” — Kristine Joy Patag
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