Senator Risa Hontiveros has called on the government to thoroughly investigate Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials, saying the Chinese mafia involved in human trafficking of Filipinos may have more connections working within the agency.

Hontiveros, at the same time, called for an overhaul of the agency to ensure the protection of Filipinos leaving the country’s borders.

“Marami nang napabalitang nasibak pero tuluy-tuloy parin ang pagre-recruit ng mga Pilipino para mangscam. May mga contact pa ba ang sindikato sa loob ng BI? Bakit hindi ito maampat? (It has been reported that many people have been fired, but Filipinos are still being recruited to scam. Does the syndicate still have contacts within BI? Why can’t this be stopped?)” the senator asked.

Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, on Wednesday, January 25 continued the panel’s probe into the reported outbound human trafficking of Filipinos who are forced to work as cryptocurrency scammers in Myanmar and also Cambodia.

The senator pointed out she has already urged a BI overhaul in the wake of the committee’s investigation into the so-called “pastillas” scam two years ago, but nothing seems to have changed.

“With the volume of trafficked Filipinos still in Cambodia and Myanmar, the BI, as our last line of defense against trafficking, clearly has some shaping up to do. The BI has to regroup and repair the entirety of their agency,” Hontiveros emphasized.

She also said the Immigration Modernization bill must also be revisited to enhance the efficacy of the BI through salary grade increases and immigration system updates, among others.

During the Senate hearing, “Ron” one of the Filipinos trafficked to Cambodia, said that his Chinese employers coerced him to recruit other Filipinos to work for the crypto scam operations.

Ron named a certain Rachel Almendra Luna as head of their recruitment. According to Ron, Luna claimed to have direct contacts with immigration officers in Clark International Airport.

The victim also disclosed that all of their recruitment happens on Facebook groups, where they would post job ads that call on Filipinos to apply for a customer service agent job in Cambodia, promising a salary of at least $600 per month.

Hontiveros said Facebook and other online apps need to be answerable for these trafficking schemes that are perpetrated on their platform.

“The company has to be aware of this modus and be on the lookout for these kinds of posts. I-take down o i-block na dapat ang mga accounts o posts na mga ito para hindi na makapag-recruit pa ng Pilipino (They should take down or block these accounts or posts to stop their illegal recruitment of Filipinos),” Hontiveros said.