6 Filipino trafficking victims in Myanmar back in PH; 60 remain captive

MANILA — At least 6 Filipinos who fell victim to a human trafficking scheme in Myanmar have returned to the Philippines after being forced to pay up to P300,000 each and tortured by their employers, while 60 more Filipinos remain captive in the country, authorities said on Friday.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), which helped facilitate the repatriation of the victims, said they were recruited through social media by false promises of employment in Thailand as customer sales representatives.

Upon arriving in Thailand, they were taken via boat across the Moei River to the border town of Myawaddy in Myanmar, where they were forced to stay in a dormitory building and compelled to work as online cryptocurrency scammers.

• Why law enforcement struggles to throttle crypto scams

In a press conference, the victims, who arrived in Manila on Thursday night, recounted what they went through at the hands of traffickers in Myanmar.

"Ang una pong sinabi sa amin na trabaho gagawin daw kaming customer sales representative. Tapos po pagdating doon ang tawag na po sa amin direct sales. Kaso po ang sistema pala ng ginagawa namin ay 'yun nga po, nang-iiscam kami using dating sites sa US," Lovelyn, not her real name, told reporters.

(The first thing we were told was that we would be sales representatives. We were called direct sales. The problem was that what we were doing was scamming people through dating sites in the US.)

According to PAOCC director Winston Casio, the scam targeted men from the United States, Europe, and Australia.

"Ito ay isang love style kung saan ang mga kalalakihan, whether European, Australian or American, 35 years old and above, lonely, without emotional support and financially independent. Paiibigin nila ang mga kalalakihang ito. Ngayon kapag nahulog na ang loob sa kanila, doon na dadahan-dahanin na, 'Baka gusto mong mag-invest sa cryptocurrency?' Dahan-dahan hanggang masulot nila ang pera ng kanilang biktima," he said.

(It is a love style in which men, whether European, Australian or American, 35 years old and above, lonely, without emotional support and financially independent. They will entice these men. Now once they fall for it, that's when it's going to be like, 'Maybe you want to invest in cryptocurrency?' They go slowly until they can get their victim's money.)

Aside from Filipinos, other victims of the human trafficking scheme were Pakistani, Indonesian, Ethiopian, Nigerian, and Sri Lankan, and Malaysian, Lovelyn said.

Meredith, another victim, said that the physical abuse started when they asked their employers to return to the Philippines.

She said they were told to pay at least US$7,000 or around P300,000 each in exchange for their freedom, and were physically beaten each day that they failed to produce the required amount.

"Nung nagtatanong na sila na kailangan nang magpadala ng pamilya ng pera, sa akin pong side, wala nga pong naipadala, konti lamang po. So nung unang araw, napalo na ako ng tubo sa ulo, sa iba't ibang parte ng katawan at sa likuran sa may puwetan po," she said.

(When they asked me to send money to the family, on my side, nothing was sent, just a little. So on the first day, I was hit by a pipe in the head, in different parts of the body, and my back.)

"Nung pangalawang araw na po every 30 minutes po. Kapag nagtatanong sila kung may pera na — eh ako po wala sa side ko wala talagang mahanap. Dun na po ako pinapalo ng every 30 minutes dito po sa likod, sa puwet. Sampung palo po, lalaki ang pumapalo sa akin, lalaking Chinese," she added.

(On the second day, the beating came every 30 minutes. When they ask me if I have money — I couldn't really produce anything on my side. That's when they beat me every 30 minutes in the back. Ten blows, a man was beating me, he was a Chinese man.)

• Chinese crypto scams targeting Filipinos to work for them: official

A video obtained by the PAOCC showed a Filipina, her hands restrained by two uniformed Chinese male, being beaten by a third Chinese national who repeatedly hit her back with a stick inside her dormitory. It was unclear whether the Filipina was among the repatriated victims.

Arjay, another victim, also narrated enduring torture from his traffickers.

"Tinali nila kami ng strip wire, nakatayo lang po 24 hours, hindi pwedeng umupo, walang kain, wala din pong tulog, then everyday silang pumapasok may dala-dalang tubo tapos habang pinapalo nila kami kumukuha sila ng mga videos," Arjay narrated.

(They tied us with strip wire, and we just stood there for 24 hours. We weren't allowed to sit, we had no food, no sleep, then every day they came in with a pipe and then they took videos while beating us.)

PAOCC director Casio said the victims were eventually allowed to leave after making payments to their employers.

He said the Philippine police attache in Thailand, in coordination with the PAOCC, facilitated the transport of the victims from Myawaddy to the Thai town of Mae Sot, then to the capital Bangkok where they stayed for a few nights.

"Masaya po kami kasi nakauwi kami nang buhay, kasi nga po akala namin hindi na kami makakauwi nang buhay kasi wala nga pong pera ang pamilya, nangutang lang po ang pamilya namin para makauwi kami," Lovelyn said.

(We are so happy to be home. We thought we couldn't go home because our families had no money, our family just borrowed money so we could go home.)

The PAOCC said the Philippine government has extended financial assistance to the victims.

• 8 more Pinoys trafficked in Myanmar rescued

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60 REMAIN CAPTIVE

Meanwhile, the PAOCC said at least 60 more Filipino trafficking victims remained captive in Myawaddy town.

"'Yan ho ang problema natin (that is our problem), because if the Philippine government will pay P300,000 each, every time that a Filipino signifies an intention to go home, they will hold the Philippine government hostage. We are in a Catch-22 situation," PAOCC's Casio said.

"We cannot give them that amount. Ang maibibigay lang namin ay ang gastos lang nila na makatawid because it is not our policy to pay ransom," he continued.

(We can't give them that amount, we can only provide the amount for crossing because it's not our policy to pay the ransom.)

The PAOCC said they have already coordinated with foreign partners and Chinese authorities to address the situation.

However, interventions remain limited due to the political and security situation in Myanmar, where a 2021 military coup unleashed ongoing bloodshed.

"There are many diplomatic implications and we cannot go into that, that’s not part of our work. Our work is only to rescue," Casio said.

He added the agency is also coordinating with telcos and Meta, Facebook's parent firm, to go after social media sites allegedly used in recruiting the victims in the Philippines.

PAOCC Chair and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed the agency to immediately address the issue of human trafficking in the Philippines.

• ASEAN vows action on human traffickers operating online
• Southeast Asia: How to combat a human trafficking crisis

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