AN official of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) yesterday said aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are more vulnerable to human trafficking syndicates now due to the easing of border controls.
Speaking at the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) consultation in Pasig City, DMW Assistant Secretary Francis Ron de Guzman said more OFWs may be victimized by human traffickers than in the past three years during the pandemic.
“During the pandemic, almost nobody can depart. Now, as more countries open their borders and the situation is going back to normal, the possibility of having more victims also rises,” said De Guzman.
He said proof of this is the fact they have brought home more trafficked OFWs in 2023 than in 2020 to 2022.
De Guzman said that from January to July this year, 109 OFWs who have fallen prey to human traffickers have been repatriated.
“These OFWs are from various countries. In particular, in Myanmar, Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Syria, and Malaysia,” he said.
“In Southeast Asia, it is typically illegal gambling. These are those recruited by Chinese syndicates. If it is in the Middle East, it is household service workers who are the victims mostly,” he added.
While the lifting of the pandemic caused an increase in human trafficking activities, the method by which it is conducted remains the same, De Guzman said, adding most of the human trafficking victims are still scammed via online schemes.
“It remains to be mostly online. Because the source of information is mostly online, the source for misinformation is also online,” said De Guzman.
