A Filipina paid ransom for her release after she was scammed to work for an online company in Myanmar, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday.

According to Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the repatriated Filipina arrived via a Philippine Airlines flight from Bangkok at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 last April 4.

Tansingco added that the Filipina was recruited via Facebook and was promised a salary of $1,000 a customer service representative in Thailand.

The victim was instructed to pose as a tourist during immigration inspections and after her arrival in Thailand, she was fetched by a private car and traveled several hours to cross a river to Myanmar.

The victim added that she worked as a marketing scammer targeting Indian nationals to invest in a platform known as “Pacific Mall”, where she was made to work for almost 16 hours without a day off and without compensation.

For her release, the Filipina was compelled to find three other Filipinos as her replacement.

The victim was then able to contact a friend in the Philippines who provided fake flight itineraries that would look like four people were coming to Thailand to replace her.

After her employers destroyed evidence in her mobile phone, the Filipina was escorted back to Thailand where she sought help from the Philippine Embassy in Thailand.

Tansingco recounted the recent interception of five Filipinos who are possible victims of human trafficking as they attempted to board a Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore at the Davao International airport last April 4.

Upon secondary inspection, it was found out that the passengers were actually bound for Dubai and were meeting a certain “Achmed” who is the former employer of one of the intercepted passengers.

“It is very important that their employers be verified with the Department of Migrant Workers as this reduces their risk of being trafficked abroad,” Tansingco said.

Tansingco lamented the current human trafficking issue of aspiring Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to Myanmar.

“Our fellow Filipinos have been enslaved abroad without proper food and compensation. Some have even been physically abused and sexually assaulted,” he said. “This is a global problem. We call on everybody to be alert. Do not fall prey to these scammers,” Tansingco added. BI News