THE Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) warned the public, especially aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), against dubious job offers promising fast and guaranteed overseas employment or visa-free travel hatched by human-trafficking rings.
“While the Philippines has maintained Tier 1 status of the United States Annual Trafficking in Persons Report for nine consecutive years, solidifying the magnitude and sustainability of its anti-trafficking efforts, we cannot become complacent,” CFO Secretary Dante Ang II said.
The CFO advised the general public, especially those planning to go overseas, to stay vigilant.
“Be alert to red flags such as: not meeting your recruiter in person, being offered a job without a proper work visa, entering other countries through unofficial routes, online job processes done exclusively online, and lack of verification documentation from legitimate government agencies,” Ang said.
To combat the rising threat of these fraudulent activities, the CFO strengthened its practices in the fight against human trafficking through the expansion of its 1343 Actionline in coordination with the IACAT for the benefit of overseas Filipinos.
“The 1343 Actionline Against Human Trafficking, is free of charge and is available 24/7 for Filipinos across the globe,” Ang said.
The CFO urges prospective overseas Filipino workers to exercise extreme caution when engaging with online offers that are entirely virtual and promise back-door channels that circumvent the system to supposedly make things easier for the applicants.
He also underscored the importance of verifying the legitimacy of social media pages and persons by checking through official government channels, and not to share personal documents or information through unverified sources.
