THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) deployed Monday, 09 October 2023, a team to Cambodia to assist in the repatriation of 27 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) trafficking victims who were duped into working for illegal online financial and phishing operations in the southeast Asian country.
DMW Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac says the department is working with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PE-Phnom Penh) in documenting the cases of the victims.
“This is yet another incident in the growing number of cases involving the illegal recruitment of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for illegal online financial operations,” Cacdac noted.
The DMW team led by Assistant Secretary Francis Ron de Guzman, will provide legal and financial assistance as well as psychological first aid to the rescued OFWs.
The Filipino victims entered Cambodia as tourists as early as January this year. They were informed that they would be working as tech support representatives but were forced to work in an online scamming facility in the O’Smach District located near the Thai border.
They were rescued with the help of the Cambodian National Police (CNP) on Tuesday, 26 September 2023. The CNP intercepted the convoy which was about to transport them from the O’Smach District to another online scamming facility in the coastal city of Sihanoukville.
The DMW and PE-Phnom Penh are working closely with Cambodia’s Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation in processing the cases of the 27 victims for their eventual repatriation.
Consul-General Emma Sarne of PE-Phnom Penh says the victims are being supported with donations of food, snacks, and hygiene kits through the help of the Filipino community in Cambodia led by the Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Cambodia (SAMAPI), and the Philippine Eagles chapter of Phnom Penh.
Consul-General Sarne adds the Embassy is also working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the A21 Foundation, CARITAS Cambodia, and other partner agencies in the Philippines in extending assistance to the victims and facilitating their immediate return home.
