The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippine government is taking all necessary measures to ensure the safe return of the 14 Filipinos rescued from the Hexin scam hub, reaffirming its commitment to bring them home and assuring their families of continued assistance.
In a statement released on Thursday, October 30, the DFA announced that the embassies in Bangkok and Yangon are working with Myanmar and Thai authorities to secure clearances for Filipino citizens to cross from Myanmar to Thailand as soon as possible.
“This delicate process has been complicated by the extraordinarily large number of different nationals in the border area,” the statement read.
The department added that diplomatic personnel have reached out to partners on the ground to provide immediate welfare assistance to the rescued Filipinos, emphasizing that the situation requires ‘abundance of patience and guarded discretion’.
On October 26, the DFA reported that the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar (Yangon) has received 222 requests for repatriation from Filipinos in scam hub areas, with 66 already in Thailand and nine now under the embassy’s care in Yangon as of October 24.
Reports indicated that nearly 1,000 foreigners, including 66 Filipinos, successfully fled Myanmar and crossed into Thailand following a military operation against the Chinese-backed KK Park, a known cybercrime compound.
The latest tally of trapped individuals in scam centers controlled by the Border Guard Force (BGF), also known as Karen National Army (KNA), in Myanmar has now reached 189, according to latest reports.
