DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac tallks with two of the 176 Filipinos who were rescued from various online scamming hubs in Myanmar after their arrival at th NAIA Terminal 1 on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (photo: DMW)

A total of 176 Filipino victims of human trafficking arrived on Wednesday, March 26, from Myanmar following the government’s repatriation efforts for those who were duped into working as online scammers.

 DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said a total of 2096 Filipinos were already rescued from several online scamming hubs Myanmar this week, the first batch was on Tuesday with the arrival of 30 Filipinos. He said 59 others are expected to arrive soon.

 Cacdac said the Filipino victims were recruited through WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram as customer sales representatives in Myanmar, only to be exploited to work as online scammers.

 “It was also reported that the trafficking victims usually use the backdoor pathways from Zamboanga going to Sabah or travel through third-country schemes from ASEAN countries, which do not require travel visas for Filipinos to enter,” said Cacdac.

He said the 176 Filipinos who arrived on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal were given a total of P60,000 financial assistance, aside from the immediate medical and psychosocial services from the Department of Health (DoH) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Cacdac said the DMW will also provide legal assistance to the victims in addition to the reintegration support and upskilling trainings through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

 Cacdac then urged OFWs and job seekers to use DMW-verified recruitment agencies and to be wary of indications of illegal recruitment such as online job postings, especially those who promise high salaries with no contracts, no work permits, or visas.