Over 200 Filipinos rescued from scam hubs seek repatriation from Myanmar
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People from various countries, who were working in a scam centre in Myanmar, waiting to board a boat to Thailand on Oct 24.
PHOTO: AFP
MANILA – More than 200 Filipinos rescued from illegal scam hubs in Myanmar are seeking assistance from the Philippine government for repatriation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Oct 26.
As at Oct 24, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon had received 222 active requests for repatriation of Filipino nationals in Myanmar, including those arrested in operations conducted by law enforcement authorities in Myawaddy scam hub compounds last week, according to the DFA.
Of the 222, 66 Filipinos crossed into Thailand and are being processed by the Thai authorities, the DFA said. Nine other Filipinos are now in Yangon under the custody of the embassy, but are still being processed by Myanmar authorities.
The usual process to cross borders involved both the Philippine embassies in Yangon and Bangkok requesting clearance for the Filipinos to cross into Thailand and be repatriated via Bangkok, the DFA explained. Clearance usually takes three to four weeks after the request is made.
Deployment ban
The DFA, together with the Department of Migrant Workers and other agencies, said it was also working to ensure the safe repatriation of affected Filipinos through “government-to-government channels”. It had earlier expressed concern over the rising number of Filipinos being repatriated.
In August, Assistant Migrant Workers Secretary Jerome Alcantara said the concentration of Filipinos being repatriated from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand was linked to the presence of scam hubs in these countries.
Also on Oct 26, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon reiterated that a deployment ban was still in effect in Myanmar.
“The embassy is alarmed over the increasing number of Filipinos being victimised in Myanmar to allegedly work as customer service representatives,” it said in an advisory. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
