CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) said 110 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who had fallen victims to either illegal recruitment or human trafficking have been flown back home, thanks to its new 1343 global hotline.
CFO emigrant services officer Eumarlo Tolosa said the 110 OFW’s were mostly victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment who sought Philippine government help by dialing (632) 1343.
The others were assisted after their relatives in the Philippines sought help by dialing (02) 1343.
“It’s a 24/7 worldwide action line,” Tolosa said.
Tolosa said that since the hotline was established last March, the CFP has already received 5,471 calls and 55 of the worthy cases were acted upon, leading to the repatriation of the 110 OFWs.
“The system works like the dial 117 of the police but ours covers trafficking and illegal recruitment cases. In Metro Manila, local complainants need not dial the area code 02,” he said.
He said that of the 55 cases acted upon, 32 were cases of illegal recruitment, 13 of human trafficking, and one of mail-order bride. There were other nine cases of assorted kinds.
CFO records showed that the National Capital Region and Central Luzon accounted for the most number of cases on migration problems in the country, with 33 and 12 cases respectively.
Illegal recruitment topped the list of most reported cases at 41 percent followed by sexual exploitation at 13 percent.
CFO data also showed that most of the complaint calls were from the Middle East countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as Asia such as South Korea and Japan.
Tolosa said the CFO has been conducting a nationwide awareness campaign through its annual community education program (CEP) dubbed “Handa ka na bang mag-abroad?” to increase the consciousness of the public on migration problems such as documentation fraud and intermarriages.
Tolosa together with fellow emigrant officers Lance Alexander Velasco and Rosario Tuaño has been holding such campaigns in various towns in Central Luzon. Last year, the education program covered 50 areas in 17 provinces nationwide.
