SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday has urged a thorough investigation of Bureau of Immigration officials, saying the Chinese mafia may have more connections inside the agency due to the persistent reports of outbound human trafficking of Filipinos forced to work as cryptocurrency scammers.
The senator then called for the overhaul of the BI to ensure the protection of every Filipino leaving our borders.
“Marami nang napabalitang nasibak pero tuluy-tuloy parin ang pagre-recruit ng mga Pilipino para mangscam. May mga contact pa ba ang sindikato sa loob ng BI? Bakit hindi ito maampat?,” the senator asked.
“I had already urged a BI overhaul in the wake of the Pastillas scam investigation two years ago, but nothing seems to have changed. With the volume of trafficked Filipinos still in Cambodia and Myanmar, the BI, as our last line of defense against trafficking, clearly has some shaping up to do. The BI has to regroup and repair the entirety of their agency,” Hontiveros added.
The senator said the Immigration Modernization bill must also be revisited to enhance the efficacy of the bureau through salary grade increases and immigration system updates, among others.
During the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality hearing, alias Ron*, one of the Filipinos trafficked to Cambodia, said that his Chinese employers coerced him to recruit other Filipinos to work for the crypto scam operations.
Ron shared that their head of recruitment, a certain Rachel Almendra Luna, has contacts with immigration officers in Clark airport.
“Tahasang sinabi ni Rachel na nag-aabot sila sa Immigration Officer para makalabas yung mga Pilipino, pero hindi niya binigay ang mga pangalan ng mga contact nila sa immigration,” he said in the hearing.
He also revealed that all of their recruitment happens on Facebook groups. They would post job ads that call on Filipinos to apply for a customer service agent job in Cambodia, promising a salary of at least $600 per month.
“Facebook needs to be answerable for these trafficking schemes that are perpetrated on their platform. The company has to be aware of this modus and be on the lookout for these kinds of posts. I-take down o i-block na dapat ang mga accounts o posts na mga ito para hindi na makapag-recruit pa ng Pilipino,” Hontiveros said.
In the hearing, Ron disclosed that his employer had him go through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) using another company’s name, fake invitation letters, and other papers. Despite the false documents, he was given an Overseas Employment Certificate.
“Hindi ba ang employment contract ay dapat i-verify at i-authenticate? Wala bang kahit anong screening to identify possible red flags? Can syndicates hire right under the nose of the Philippine government?” Hontiveros asked during the hearing.
“This is nothing less than a looming humanitarian crisis perpetrated by the vilest of criminal syndicates. Mga mararahas na sindikato na binubusalan, tinatali at kinukuryente ang mga empleyado. Mga walang pakundangan kung manuhol. We need to stop at nothing until those who collude with these syndicates are put behind bars. Anything short of this will only lead to more Filipinos being thrown to the wolves,” Hontiveros concluded.
