A Filipina who illegally left the country through backdoor’ to work abroad ended up as a sex worker in Malaysia, according to the Bureau of Immigration.
Immigration commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the woman, as apparent victim of human trafficking, narrated her ordeal in the hands of the syndicate that lured her to go to Malaysia.
The victim, identified only as alias ‘Sally’, 30, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino international airport on Aug. 26 from Kuala Lumpur on board a Malaysian Airlines through the assistance of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She admitted that she illegally departed last May 29 through Tawi-Tawi after being offered a job as waitress in Malaysia.
She said she was subsequently transported with two other women in a boat to Kota Kinabalu.
She added that when they arrived in Kota Kinabalu, a man picked them up, and she was introduced to a Chinese who forced her to work in a prostitution den, with her travel documents confiscated by the employer.
To make matters worse, the victim was not given salary or food allowances, with her employer claiming that she owed him P P200,000 for the costs of her trip and recruitment fee.
“This is a clear case of debt-bondage, wherein the victim is tied to their trafficker because of made up or trumped up debts,” Viado lamented.
The victim was able to seek help from the Philippine Embassy, who assisted in her repatriation.
