The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) facilitated the urgent repatriation of a Filipina human trafficking victim diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer from Thailand.
The Filipina was lured to Myanmar by a fake customer service job offer but was subjected to forced labor. As her health deteriorated, she was moved across the Myanmar-Thailand border to Mae Sot in Tak Province, where local humanitarian groups provided temporary shelter and medical care.
The DMW, through its Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Bangkok, coordinated with the Philippine Embassy in Thailand and Thai government authorities to organize her return to the Philippines.
Because the victim entered Thailand without valid documentation, the MWO and embassy petitioned the Thai Immigration Bureau, the Royal Thai Police, and airport authorities for special humanitarian clearance to process her departure.
The Filipina was repatriated on October 10 following joint operational efforts by MWO Bangkok, the Philippine Embassy, Tak Immigration, Bangkok Immigration, and Suvarnabhumi Airport authorities.
An MWO case officer and a Thai immigration officer accompanied her on an eight-hour overland journey from Mae Sot to Bangkok, where Labor Attaché Don Pangcog met the team at the airport to ensure her safe departure.
The DMW funded her humanitarian repatriation expenses using its AKSYON Fund.
The agency noted that the successful operation highlighted the necessity of diplomatic coordination and partnerships with host-country law enforcement and relief organizations to rescue distressed citizens facing life-threatening medical conditions.
The DMW reaffirmed its mandate to assist distressed Filipino migrant workers regardless of their employment or immigration status.