By Lane Afable, News Editor
At least 78 Filipinos who were detained for immigration-related offenses after being trafficked for employment in scam hubs in Myanmar has been released.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on last night announced that the 78 Filipino nationals were employed in scam centers in Myanmar and had been serving sentences for illegal entry and residency.
“The Department expresses its appreciation to Myanmar authorities for this compassionate and humanitarian gesture, made during the Myanmar New Year (Thingyan), which reflects the goodwill between Myanmar and the Philippines,” it said in a statement.
The Philippine Embassy in Yangon, it said, is currently facilitating the “prompt, safe and orderly repatriation of the 78 Filipinos to the Philippines, in coordination with Myanmar authorities.”
“The Department reaffirms its foreign policy pillar of protecting Filipino nationals overseas, in collaboration with the Department of Migrant Workers, and will continue to work with relevant law enforcement agencies toward the prosecution of illegal recruiters of Filipinos trafficked for illegal jobs abroad,” the DFA added.
