Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople warned the public, especially those seeking jobs abroad, against online illegal recruitment scheme offering jobs for Filipinos to work in Myanmar and Thailand.
This, after the government rescued 12 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were duped into working as online scammers allegedly being run by Chinese mafia in Myanmar.
Ople said she met with the rescued victims of a Chinese call center based in a remote area in Myanmar near the border of Thailand and was informed that most of the victims were offered a job as “customer service relations” and “technical support” staff in a Chinese-operated company.
“According to the victims, they were recruited online via Facebook and promised a monthly salary of P40,000 for six months of work as data encoders, customer service relations, and technical support staff,” said Ople.
“They were also made to believe that they would be working in Thailand but ended up in a ‘techno park’ in a remote area in Myanmar that took eight hours to reach by land travel and by foot,” she added.
The victims were part of a larger group of 12 people rescued from their Chinese handlers through the coordinated efforts of the Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros, the DMW, and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
"Our department wishes to thank Senator Risa Hontiveros. It was a communication between one of the victims and the staff of Senator Risa that triggered a lot of things. She met one of the victims yesterday and I met around 10 of the human trafficking survivors," Ople echoed.
The victims confessed to Ople that they were assigned to a cubicle and given instructions through Google Translate.
"They (OFWs) were instructed by the Chinese to enter dating apps and other social media platforms to search and cultivate relations with potential bitcoin investors," the official added.
Meanwhile, acting POEA Administrator and DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia signed Advisory No. 54 on August 2, 2022, suspending any further deployment to Myanmar.
The advisory warns aspiring OFWs from applying for jobs in Myanmar due to violence and armed conflict and the rising incident of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.