The Philippine government has been closely coordinating with authorities in Myanmar for the four missing Filipinos in its city of Mandalay and several others following the 7.7 magnitude quake, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said on Monday, March 31.
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said two of the four missing Filipinos are a couple who both came from Laos, all of them were reported missing in Mandalay City.
“They are still unaccounted for. As far as we know, there are efforts in searching for them, that’s why we need prayers in order to find them, to confirm that they are safe,” said Cacdac.
The DMW is yet to disclose the names of the missing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), saying it is yet to inform their respective families.
There are around 2,000 Filipinos in Myanmar but Cacdac said the actual number remains uncertain due to the presence of scam hubs and human trafficking cases.
The Philippine government has so far repatriated 232 trafficked individuals, 206 of whom were repatriated last week.
“Efforts are ongoing to ascertain the exact number of Filipinos still trapped in scam farms in Myanmar,” said Cacdac.
Aside from the missing OFWs, Cacdac said they are also overseeing the well-being of Filipinos in Myawaddy, Myanmar, a town near the Thai border where ongoing rescue operations of Filipino victims of human trafficking are being conducted.
Nine OFWs are currently housed in a government shelter in Myawaddy and all of them were confirmed safe.
In Thailand, Cacdac said the situation is going back to normal in the country, where no Filipino casualties were reported in the quake.