The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) successfully repatriated 79 Filipino human trafficking victims (HTVs) from Myanmar.
The repatriated Filipinos were found to be victims of suspicious or unverified job offers, raising the DFA’s call to the public once again to strictly comply with legal deployment procedures through authorized government agencies, particularly the DMW prior to seeking employment abroad.
Majority of the repatriated Filipinos were previously detained at the Hpa-An Detention Center in Kayin State and were granted amnesty by the Myanmar government during “Thingyan” or the Myanmar New Year.
Before reaching the Philippines, they underwent comprehensive reception procedures, including documentation, debriefing, counselling, and were provided with medical services at the Yangon, the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar with assistance from the Migrant Workers Office-Bangkok (MWO-Bangkok).
The Filipinos were repatriated in two batches, where the first batch arrived on May 7, and the other batch on May 10.
The DFA reminded the public that the deployment ban to Myanmar remains in full effect, and violations of immigration and labor regulations may result in serious penalties such as imprisonment of up to five years and the imposition of fines. Many Filipinos who became victims to deceptive recruitment schemes resulted in exploitation, detention, and other grave consequences.