The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that the 13 victims of human trafficking in Iraq are now under the custody of the Philippine embassy.
The victims were targeted by individuals and manpower agencies that offered them non-existent jobs in Dubai via Facebook, Viber, and Whatsapp.
The DFA said that the victims were trafficked from Dubai to Iraq from July 4 to December 22 last year.
According to the Embassy in Iraq, the human trafficking scheme starts when the syndicates would reach out to their victims on social media and offer them high-paying jobs in Dubai.
The syndicates would then ask their victims to pay for the travel cost to Dubai in advance.
Upon arriving in Dubai using a tourist visa, the victims would then work without pay as part of their “training”, but when their tourist visas are about to expire, they would be told to accept jobs in Iraq instead.
If they refuse, they would be required to pay US$3,000 to the syndicates for their supposed deployment expenses.
The DFA then said that the victims are then trafficked through Erbil in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and smuggled to Baghdad or Basra.
The victims would then get transferred to different vehicles throughout the trip because their visas from Erbil will not be valid outside the Kurdistan Region and they are trying not to get caught.
The DFA said that the victims could have suffered maltreatment and molestation throughout the said trip, and they could experience something worse in case they get employed.
Moreover, the DFA released a statement on Saturday saying that 17 cases of human trafficking were handled by the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq in 2018 alone.
One of the human trafficking victims in Iraq has been detained at Basra Prison for the last three months and was just released last Wednesday for deportation.
The DFA then advised all OFWs to check first with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) if the jobs being offered to them online are true.
They also urged OFWs to follow pre-departure procedures implemented by Philippine immigration authorities to ensure their safety.
