Twenty-four Filipinos who were forced to work in a scam hub and later sold as slaves in Cambodia have returned to the Philippines after being rescued by Cambodian police, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Monday.
They arrived on August 23 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 via a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh. The victims, composed of nine males and 14 females, were rescued with the help of the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia.
The group recounted how they were recruited through social media with promises of $1,500 monthly salaries as customer service representatives. Instead, they received only about $300 and were forced to work as romance scammers in catfishing syndicates targeting European men.
Victims also revealed they were subjected to physical and verbal abuse, including punishments such as squatting exercises for failing to meet quotas. Several said they were later sold to other companies, likening their ordeal to modern-day slavery.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado warned aspiring overseas workers not to fall for illegal recruitment schemes, saying traffickers increasingly use social media and messaging apps to lure victims. He added that the bureau is investigating possible collusion of certain personnel with recruiters.
