The first batch of six Filipino victims of human trafficking were sent home from the Philippine embassy shelter in Syria’s capital, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Saturday, February 6.
In a statement, the DFA said the Filipino repatriates from Damascus were scheduled to arrive at the Ninoy Aquino Internstional Airport (NAIA) on Saturday afternoon.
They were the Filipino women who were illegally hired to work in Syria, where their employers reportedly abused them. They were able to gain entry into the Middle East by posing as tourists in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“They are all undocumented workers in Syria who ran away from their employers due to harsh working conditions,” the department said.
According to the DFA, it coordinated with the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT), which is led by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to assist the repatriates who have already prepared their affidavits in the filing of criminal complaints against those who recruited them.
The agency is working on the repatriation of the remaining 32 trafficked Filipina workers staying in the embassy shelter in Damascus.
It was earlier reported there were Filipinas who experienced poor treatment at the hands of embassy personnel at the shelter, which Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has ordered investigated.
The DFA said it was taking measures to ensure the well-being of trafficked victims who are currently staying in the embassy shelter by sending an augmentation team in Syria next week.
“The augmentation team shall render humanitarian assistance and facilitate the repatriation of all the remaining distressed Filipino wards in the embassy shelter and any other distressed Filipino national,” its statement said.