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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Filipinos 'willing victims' of scam hubs in Southeast Asia — DMW

Filipinos 'willing victims' of scam hubs in Southeast Asia — DMW

Published Sep 12, 2025 05:08 pm
CIDG operatives raid an online scam hub in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City where a female Chinese and 13 Filipinos were arrested. (photo: CIDG()
CIDG operatives raid an online scam hub in Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City where a female Chinese and 13 Filipinos were arrested. (photo: CIDG()
Filipinos continue to become willing victims of scam hubs across Southeast Asia even as the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) insists on employing "non-punishment principles".
During a House Committee on Appropriations budget hearing on Friday, Sep. 12, DMW reported that at least 1,434 Filipinos were recruited to work as scammers in three Southeast Asian countries.
DMW said it already rescued and repatriated 332 Filpinos from Cambodia, 387 from Laos, and 715 from Myanmar.
Myanmar recorded the highest number of Filipinos who were illegally recruited. This happened despite the Philippines' imposition of Alert Level 4, which prohibited the deployment of Filipino workers there.
"Marami po sa kanila, mga (Many of them are) willing victims, in spite of the aggressive campaigns against the deployment of workers to these places," DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said during the hearing.
Olalia says Filipinos use three methods to sneak into the scam hub-countries amid efforts by the government to stop them for doing so.
These are through the recruitment of licensed agencies to work supposedly as customer service representatives (CSC); an intricate "backdoor" route to Cambodia that passes through Palawan, Tawi-tawi, and then Sabah in Malaysia; and finally, through the direct recruitment of people in those countries.
"Yung third country hire, isa rin po yan sa tinututukan natin. Documented po ang ating OFW (overseas Filipino workers) sa abroad, pero sila po ay na-eenganyo na pumunta sa tatlong bansa dahil sa ganda ng mga offers ng illegal recruiters (We're also looking at the third country hire, where documented OFWs are being lured to work into another country because of good offers from illegal recruiters)," Olalia said.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Dadah Ismula asked the agency regarding its actions against these recruiters as well as its assurance that the supposed victims, who were apparently aware of the jobs they would do, are not punished.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the agency already shut down recruitment companies that deployed workers to these countries. It is now coordinating with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to go after the individuals who recruit workers online.
Cacdac told the appropriations panel that the agency subscribes to the "non-punishment principle". This, as Ismula said that the human trafficking victims were punished under immigration and smuggling-related laws.
"Ang tinatayuan po natin ay non-punishment. At mahalaga ang Pilipino, kung sila ay nabibiktima ng human trafficking (We stand by the non-punishment principle. Filipinos are important even as they become victims of human trafficking)," Cacdac said.
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