According to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), trafficking syndicates are using social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook to lure victims into accepting fake job offers from online scam hubs.
Most of the victims are college graduates from Metro Manila and nearby areas. They are forced to work as scammers in countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Myanmar, according to Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.
On March 28, four victims of human trafficking were intercepted before boarding a Cebu Pacific flight to Malaysia. Recently, up to 206 Filipinos were repatriated after being forced to work in scam hubs in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
According to new data, such as those seen in 2024, victims are typically aged 20-44 and are targeted through false advertisements offering high wages.
Despite these incidents, the Philippines has continued to maintain “Tier 1” status in the US Trafficking in Persons Report for nine years, meaning that the government has met the minimum standards to combat trafficking and demonstrated serious efforts to address this problem.
