The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has appealed to Filipinos who wish to work abroad not to engage with social media-based job offers that do not have any government-issued licenses.
This comes as the cases of human trafficking continue to rise, with many Filipinos becoming victims after believing in job offers on social media.
BI Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulak pointed out that although many social media pages have been taken down, many of them continue to resurface, using other sites and profiles.
These sites are reportedly preying on Filipinos who are hoping to secure good jobs with high wages.
He noted that a significant percentage of Filipinos who have been assisted by the government in returning to the Philippines were victims who were convinced by these job offers.
Although there are legitimate recruitment agencies that recruit through social media, there are also many human trafficking groups using social media to recruit victims.
The official appealed to Filipinos to first visit government offices, which are knowledgeable about legitimate recruitment agencies, to avoid falling victim to fake recruiters.
Based on immigration records, many Filipinos who fall victim to human trafficking and are eventually taken abroad are forced to work in scam farms, love scams, and other similar activities.
