Four Singaporeans among more than 1,000 alleged trafficking victims rescued in the Philippines

SINGAPORE: Four Singaporeans were among the alleged trafficking victims rescued by the Philippines police after a raid in Manila on Monday (Jun 26) night.

Responding to CNA’s queries, a spokesperson for Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Thursday that its embassy in Manila is in contact with the relevant Philippine authorities.

It has also reached out to the affected Singaporeans to render consular assistance.

“Currently, we have verified that there are four Singaporeans among those rescued,” added the ministry.

On Tuesday, the Philippine police said they had rescued more than 1,000 people allegedly trafficked into the country to work for an online casino in Manila.

Chinese, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Malaysian victims were among those found when police raided buildings in the capital on Monday night.

People from Indonesia, Pakistan, Cameroon, Sudan, and Myanmar were also found inside the compound.

More than 2,700 people were detained during the raids – over 1,500 were Filipinos.

Police Captain Michelle Sabino, a spokesperson for the anti-cybercrime unit, said the alleged trafficking victims had accepted jobs posted on Facebook to work in the Philippines “to find players” for online games.

Many of them were forced to work 12-hour shifts every day for as little as 24,000 pesos (US$433) a month, and were prevented from leaving the compound, she said.

Sabino described it as the biggest anti-trafficking raid in the Philippines.

“The Singapore government would like to express its appreciation to the Philippine authorities for their efforts in the rescue operation,” said the MFA spokesperson

Singaporeans in the Philippines who require consular assistance can contact the Singapore Embassy in Manila at +63 917 860 4740 or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs duty office at +65 6379 8800/8855.