A 20-year-old Filipina who was recruited as a household help but who ended up as a "sex worker" was arrested and jailed in Malaysia.
Fortunately, the Malaysian government allowed her to seek help from the Philippine embassy which facilitated her repatriation. She arrived in Manila last Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The name of the Filipina was withheld for her own protection, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.
In a statement, Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that "the victim was allegedly recruited by an internet acquaintance who promised her a housekeeping job in Malaysia,”
During investigation, the BI said that the victim first travelled to Palawan where she boarded a boat that picked up another recruited Filipina on another island before sailing to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
It said that "upon arrival in Kota Kinabalu. they traveled through mountainous terrains to reach a hotel in Sibu, Malaysia where they were housed as sex workers."
“She was later transferred to another hotel in Bintulu, Malaysia where she was eventually placed in jail after Malaysian authorities raided the hotel,” it also said.
The BI statement did not give details on what happened to the other recruited woman.
"This case exemplifies the heinous nature of human trafficking and the urgency to combat this abominable crime," Tansingco said.
"We must remain proactive and continually collaborate among stakeholders in dismantling these trafficking networks," he added.