IACAT: 120 OFWs repatriated

THE INTER-AGENCY Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said on Monday that 120 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were victims of human trafficking have been repatriated from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

Of the total, 77 individuals were flown home from Laos, 38 came from Myanmar, and 5 from Cambodia. The repatriated group consists of 61 women and 53 men, according to a live-streamed video on IACAT’s Facebook page.

Among the Myanmar cases were reports of grave abuse, including a woman allegedly forced to undergo an abortion to keep her job and another raped by her Chinese supervisor.

Most victims had been lured by fraudulent online job offers, particularly in the cyber-scam industry, before being subjected to exploitative working conditions.

IACAT said upcoming repatriations include two Filipinos from Baghdad on Aug. 17, and another 41 from Nigeria and Kurdistan, Iraq, on Aug. 18. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana