200 rescued Filipinos seek repatriation from Myanmar

FILE PHOTO: Department of Foreign Affairs building —DFA/FACEBOOK

More than 200 Filipinos rescued from illegal scam hubs in Myanmar are seeking assistance from the Philippine government for repatriation, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday.

As of Oct. 24, per the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon had received 222 active requests for repatriation of Filipino nationals in Myanmar, including those arrested in operations conducted by law enforcement authorities in Myawaddy scam hub compounds last week.

Of the 222, 66 Filipinos crossed into Thailand and are under process by Thai authorities, the DFA said. Nine other Filipinos are now in Yangon under the custody of the embassy but are still being processed by Myanmar authorities.

The usual process to cross borders involved both the Philippine embassies in Yangon and Bangkok requesting clearance for the Filipinos to cross to Thailand and be repatriated via Bangkok, the DFA explained. Clearance usually takes three to four weeks after the request is made.

Deployment ban

The DFA, together with the Department of Migrant Workers and other agencies, said it was also working to ensure the safe repatriation of affected Filipinos through “government-to-government channels.” It had earlier expressed concern over the rising number of Filipinos being repatriated.

Last August, Assistant Migrant Workers Secretary Jerome Alcantara said the concentration of repatriates from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand was linked to the presence of scam hubs in these countries.

Also on Sunday, the Philippine Embassy in Yangon reiterated the deployment ban was still in effect in Myanmar.

“The embassy is alarmed over the increasing number of Filipinos being victimized in Myanmar to allegedly work as customer service representatives,” it said in an advisory.

Filipinos in scam hubs and their families who wish to request assistance for repatriation may contact the Philippine Embassy in Yangon through the following hotlines: +959985210993 ; +959985210998 ; +959409883434 (Viber) ; +959985210996 ; or email yangonpe.atn@dfa.gov.ph.