CEBU CITY, Philippines — Filipinos are advised to be cautious about overseas job offerings from recruitment agencies that operate through the social media like Facebook, Viber or WhatsApp.
This is the advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs to Filipinos planning to work abroad after 13 Filipinos were reported to be victims of human trafficking since January.
According to DFA on Saturday, April 6, one of the victims, who was detained at Basra Prison in Iraq for the last three months, was deported to the country on April 3.
Twelve other Filipinos were still under the custody of the Philippine Embassy since January 2019, the DFA said.
Last year, the Philippine Embassy recorded 17 human trafficking cases of persons trafficked from Dubai to Irag from July 4 to December 22, 2018.
The embassy further reminds Filipinos who want to work abroad to check job offers with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
On the advisory posted by DFA website, they reminded the public to comply with the pre-departure procedures implemented by Philippine immigration authorities to ensure the safety of Filipino travelers and prevent the occurrence of illegal recruitment, people smuggling, trafficking of internal organs, and human trafficking./dbs