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Official bares human traffickers’ method of operation

DUBAI: Human traffickers spend for their unsuspecting victims’ visit visa and plane fare to the UAE, which amount to around Dh2,000, because they get as much as Dh13,000 per person in return.

This according to a ranking labor official who spoke to The Filipino Times on condition of anonymity, citing security concerns.

“Bibigyan ng visit visa at tiket, ituturo sa kanila kung kaninong Immigration officer sa airport sa Pilipinas lalapit para dere-deretso sila; pagdating dito may susundo sa airport at dadalhin muna sila sa holding area bago ibibigay sa mga legitimate agencies,” the official said.

(They will provide the visit visa and plane ticket, they will tell them who to approach at the Immigration counter when they arrive at the airport in the Philippines so that they could not be offloaded. Upon arrival here, someone will pick them up and take them to a holding area before being turned over to the care of legitimate manpower agencies.)

The official said employers would then hire the victim from the agency unmindful that she was trafficked. Most of the victims were promised teaching, office or service crew jobs but ended up as domestic helps, the official said.

“Ayon sa mga naka-usap ko, from Dh10,000 to D13,000 ang bayad sa agent (trafficker). Pero kung ididiretso nya sa employer ay aabot ng Dh15,000,” said the official.

The Philippine Embassy and Consulate General in the UAE have been repatriating runaway overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in large numbers for the past several months, with the figure totaling close to 3,000 as of December last year, indicating how lucrative the illegal operation has become for unscrupulous individuals preying on the jobless in the Philippines’ rural areas, where most of the victims come from.

This January, the embassy was able to repatriate over 150 distressed OFWs in batches.

Earlier, Labor Attaché Ophelia Almenario said human traffickers have been abusing the Philippine government’s repatriation program, allegedly telling their victims that they can always run to the embassy or consulate for help if things go wrong so that they can be flown home free.

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