The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is exerting its efforts to repatriate all Filipinos who crossed borders into various Southeast Asian nations to work as crypto scammers, including the 25-year-old Filipina who posed as a tourist going to Thailand.
Ma. Teresita Daza, DFA spokesperson, said Monday that the agency is now working on the return of Filipinos who were victims of illegal trafficking. That included those who were recently rescued by Burmese authorities from their worksites in Myawaddy town in Myanmar.
"Among the Filipinos whose repatriation we are working on is Ms. Kiela Samson, whose family members are now directly in touch with our Embassy in Yangon," Daza said.
Daza made the remark after Samson's family called on the government's help after she was detained in Myanmar following her arrest on the border of Thailand and Myanmar on Jan. 17.
Samson's family told ANC in an interview that she flew to Thailand as a tourist before boarding a boat in Mae Sot bound for Myanmar.
"While we will continue to do what we can, we reiterate the call of all Philippine government agencies for Filipinos wishing to work abroad to follow Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) regulations and be duly registered as OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) instead of leaving the country as tourists," Daza said.
She warned Filipinos who are promised jobs abroad but have to pretend as tourists to avoid immigration controls against such a scheme.
Their recruiters "are just leading our kababayans to dangerous situations where it may be very difficult to secure their safety and assist them in returning home," Daza added.