Arafat Hasan: The Philippine government yesterday warned about sex traffickers preying on Filipino women by offering jobs via the social media.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is warning Filipinos seeking jobs abroad against sex trafficking syndicates using social media to offer work in Malaysia, Singapore and other countries.
The DFA issued the warning after the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur repatriated 27 Filipino women on Wednesday who were earlier rescued from a sex trafficking syndicate operating in Johor Bahru, the capital of the state of Johor in Malaysia.
“We urge our countrymen to think twice before applying for the various job opportunities abroad that are being offered online,” Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Cayetano said there are numerous cases of Filipino jobseekers who apply for these online job offers but end up in virtual bondage in a number of countries abroad.
Cayetano said Filipinos who want to work abroad should first check job offers with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) or the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) before applying for them.
According to the women, they were recruited in the Philippines, selling liquor to customers in four establishments in Singapore.
They said they did this on a commission basis but were made to do sexual services as well.
Due to lack of employment in the Philippines, up to 12 million Filipinos work aboard to seek for greener pastures.
The Philippines is one of the world’s largest labor exporters. The economy is heavily reliant on the remittances the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) send home.
-Source: Xinhua