By Marita Moaje
MANILA – A total of 53 Filipino victims of human trafficking arrived in the country on Friday after they were repatriated by the Philippine government.
In a news release, the Department of Migrant Workers said the group, which included two persons who are in need of immediate medical attention, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 aboard the Philippine Airlines PR 2622 flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The victims were recruited via online platforms with a promise of high salaries, but were subjected instead to physical and verbal abuse.
“The victims were lured to Cambodia via messaging app, Telegram, and were promised salaries ranging from 600-1,000USD and valid working visas,” the DMW said.
“One of the victims disclosed being subjected to abuse and made to do 300 push-ups, starved, and denied salaries for failing to reach a quota of 26 love scam clients per day.”
One of the victims have kidney failure and the other with a broken clavicle due to a vehicular accident.
Together with the rest of the victims, they were checked by personnel from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Manila International Airport Authority medical team upon arrival.
The two needing medical attention were referred for free treatment to DOH hospitals near them.
Recruited through Telegram
One of the victims recounted that he was recruited through Telegram and was told by a certain “Gigi” that the entire process and documentation were legal.
Upon arrival in Cambodia, they found out the work they would be doing and tried to resign but were threatened instead to keep them from leaving.
“Ang trabaho namin dun ay love scam, investment like crypto. Parang mag-build kami ng trust sa isang tao para makuha yung loob, tapos magbabagsak kami ng investment, parang love scam (Our job there is love scam, investment like crypto). It’s like we build trust with a person to win their favor, then we would introduce the investment, like a love scam,” he said.
“Nag resign kaming lahat sa compound na yun pero lahat kami binantaan kami na papatayin daw, binantaan pati mga pamilya namin para hindi kami makaalis (We all resigned from that compound, but we were all threatened that we would be killed, even our families were threatened so we couldn’t leave),” he added.
The victims will receive comprehensive assistance, including psychosocial counseling, reintegration support, and other recovery services and transport to their provinces, the DMW said. (PNA)
