Over the past two years, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) reported on Monday, October 27, that 1,454 Filipinos have been rescued from scam hubs in Southeast Asia.
Around 200 Filipino human trafficking victims recently sought repatriation from the Philippine government after being rescued from an illegal scam hub in Myanmar.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said many of them crossed into Thailand, where a Philippine Migrant Workers Officer is stationed.
He said authorities are currently coordinating the rescued workers’ repatriation.
Hundreds of Filipinos have fallen victim to these human trafficking schemes, with the total number of rescued individuals now exceeding 1,400.
‘We have a total of 1,454 repatriated kababayans from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar,’ DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said in a press conference.
From Cambodia, 376 Filipinos were rescued, including 211 men and 171 women.
In Laos, 399 were rescued, comprising 199 men and 200 women.
Meanwhile, 764 Filipinos were rescued and repatriated from Myanmar, with 347 men and 417 women among them.
Myanmar has gained notoriety for hosting scam operations. Authorities there recently cracked down on hubs run by Chinese crime syndicates, including a raid in Myawaddy Township that rescued over a thousand human trafficking victims, several of whom were Filipino.
Cacdac expressed gratitude to the Myanmar and Thai authorities for their efforts in rescuing and assisting the Filipino victims, emphasizing that such operations are illegal and that law enforcement must continue to work to stop them.