The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is investigating reports that 54 of the Filipino victims of human trafficking repatriated from Myanmar possibly left via backdoor and urged stricter monitoring of illegal exit points in the country’s southern borders, where traffickers use small boats to secretly transport victims abroad.
This follows the arrest of alias ‘Fiona’ by the Philippine National Police in Zamboanga.
Alias ‘Fiona’ has been tagged as the facilitator for the illegal departure of trafficking victims via small boats.
Also arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation was alias ‘Jon Jon’, who was among the 206 repatriated from scam hubs in Myawaddy, Myanmar. Alias ‘Jon Jon’ initially claimed to be a victim himself, but his colleagues positively identified him as one of the recruiters for the company.
Previously, the interagency council against trafficking released a study on backdoor exits in relation to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants by sea.
In their study, they recommended that local government units (LGUs) as well as local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) strengthen surveillance in areas of concern.
