IACAT to probe recruiters of Filipina who was arrested, jailed as ‘sex worker’ in Malaysia

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) will run after the recruiters of a 20-year-old Filipina who was recruited as a househelp but who ended up as a “sex worker” and was arrested and jailed in Malaysia.

“Definitely po kailangan managot ng mga recruiter na ito (Definitely these recruiters should be held liable),” said Bureau of Immigration (BI) Spokesperson Dana Sandoval on “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon” over PTV.

Sandoval said the Filipina, who returned to the Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 8, was subjected to harrowing conditions in Malaysia.

“Hindi po siya pinapakain hangga’t hindi siya nakakapagperform ng sex work doon sa mga kliyente niya (She was not allowed to eat until she had performed sex work),” she lamented.

“The really sad thing siguro (maybe) about it was she was forced to do abortion,” she disclosed.

Sandoval said the Filipina was “transferred from one brothel to another” and  “she was not even given access to contraceptives.”

“Ayon sa salaysay ng ating kababayan ay Filipino rin po nagrecruit sa kanya (The victim recounted that a fellow Filipino recruited her),” she said.

“It’s really frustrating and really disheartening na malaman na kapwa niya Filipino, kapwa pa natin Filipino po ang nagdala sa kapahamakan doon po sa babaeng ito (to know that a fellow Filipino put the woman in danger),” she added.

She then appealed: “Huwag po tayo papasok sa illegal means (not to seek work abroad through illegal means). Always go the legal way po dahil this for your safety and also for your protection (Always go the legal way because this is for your safety and also for your protection).”

After her arrest and detention, the Malaysian government allowed the 20-year-old Filippina  to seek help from the Philippine embassy which facilitated her repatriation.

Earlier, Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that “the victim was allegedly recruited by an internet acquaintance who promised her a housekeeping job in Malaysia,”

During investigation, the BI said that the victim first travelled to Palawan where she boarded a boat that picked up another recruited Filipina on another island before sailing to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

It said that “upon arrival in Kota Kinabalu. they traveled through mountainous terrains to reach a hotel in Sibu, Malaysia where they were housed as sex workers.”

“She was later transferred to another hotel in Bintulu, Malaysia where she was eventually placed in jail after Malaysian authorities raided the hotel,” it also said. — Jeffrey Damicog

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