The Philippine government is going after a syndicate reportedly targeting Filipinos to work in offshore gaming operations in Laos, Malacañang reported over the weekend citing information from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the alleged syndicate was uncovered by Philippine Ambassador to Laos Deena Joy Amatong, who sent home at least 160 Filipinos engaged in the said operations.
President Marcos was recently in Vientiane, Laos where he attended the four-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits with Cacdac as part of his official delegation.
In a weekly news forum on Saturday, Cacdac said they are working closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file the appropriate complaints against the recruiters and prevent more Filipinos from falling into this kind of activity in Laos.
“I think it is important to suppress that. So, we are working closely also with the DOJ. Every time the ambassador (Amatong) sends people home, we get their statement through our Anti-Illegal Recruitment Unit,” Cacdac said partly in Tagalog.
“In their statement, they indicated a Philippine element or Philippine recruiter, which we submitted right away. We endorsed it immediately to the DOJ for the appropriate filing of complaints before the fiscal,” he added.
Cacdac noted that Amatong continues to monitor the situation of migrant workers in Laos, who may be trapped in an industry similar to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which President Marcos dismantled.
“We continue to observe the situation of POGO workers. There are POGO workers left (in Laos) and Ambassador Amatong is assisting them,” the DMW chief said.
