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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Hontiveros: DOJ 'well-positioned' to probe human trafficking in Myanmar

Hontiveros: DOJ 'well-positioned' to probe human trafficking in Myanmar

Published Dec 2, 2022 11:46 am

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday, December 2 welcomed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) move to investigate the reported trafficking of Filipinos for a cryptocurrency scam in Myanmar.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials in the reported trafficking of Filipinos following the new modus bared by Hontiveros during her privilege speech in the Senate.

Remulla assured that no one would be spared from the investigation on human trafficking syndicates who dupe Filipinos into accept bogus jobs and are using their connections in the country’s airport terminals and the BI to get them out of the country.

“This is of course very welcome as we really have to address the problem of trafficking on all fronts,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“As the lead convenor of the IACAT (Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking), the DOJ is well-positioned to look into this particular case of Pinoys being victimized into participating in scamming activities in Myanmar,” she said.

Hontiveros recalled that the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality has previously worked with the NBI when it exposed people involved in the so-called “pastillas scam”—the scandal that rocked the BI where some of its immigration officials were found to be involved in a bribery scheme to allow the seamless entry of inbound foreigners, mostly Chinese in the country.

“We have previously worked with the NBI when it came to exposing people involved in the

‘pastillas scam.’ So I hope the cooperation of the agency and the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality will also be fruitful in suppressing this new modus operandi of human trafficking,” she said.

“We cannot allow or afford the social and psychological consequences of lax border management, trafficking, and traumatic events endured by our OFWs,” the senator stressed.

RELATED Story: https://mb.com.ph/2022/12/01/nbi-to-probe-involvement-of-biofficials-in-human-trafficking/

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DOJ Risa Hontiveros human trafficking myanmar
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