Jamaine Punzalan

Major General Bun Sosekha (2nd R), deputy commissioner in charge of the Security Unit Commissariat of Phnom Penh, is surrounded by members of the media as he looks at a seized monitor at a cyberscam operation center following a raid the night before in Phnom Penh on March 11, 2026. Tang Chhin Sothy, AFP

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ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1773370012397AFP__20260311__A2TM2KE__v1__MidRes__CambodiaCybercrimeFraud.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Major General Bun Sosekha (2nd R), deputy commissioner in charge of the Security Unit Commissariat of Phnom Penh, is surrounded by members of the media as he looks at a seized monitor at a cyberscam operation center following a raid the night before in Phnom Penh on March 11, 2026. Tang Chhin Sothy, AFP</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Fifty-three human trafficking victims were repatriated to the Philippines on Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers said. </p><p>The group, including two who needed medical attention, “safely” arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the DMW said. </p><p>The agency said the victims “were lured to Cambodia via messaging app, Telegram, and were promised salaries ranging from 600-1,000USD and valid working visas.”</p><p>“One of the victims disclosed being subjected to abuse and made to do 300 push-ups, starved, and denied salaries for failing to reach a quota of 26 love scam clients per day,” the DMW said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/7/30/un-sounds-alarm-on-southeast-asia-scam-center-surge-0119">UN sounds alarm on Southeast Asia scam center surge</a></div><p>One repatriate was suffering kidney failure while another had a broken clavicle due to a vehicle accident. They were given medicines and will be referred for free treatment to public hospitals, the agency added. </p><p>The victims were also provided with accommodation assistance pending the processing of their statements. They will also receive psychosocial counseling, reintegration support, and other recovery services and transport to their respective provinces, the DMW said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/8/marcos-jr-vows-for-protection-of-filipino-workers-in-cambodia-0600">Marcos Jr vows for protection of Filipino workers in Cambodia as ambassador say scam hub victims &#x27;more than double&#x27;</a></div><p>Cambodia has become a major hotspot for crime syndicates running a multibillion-dollar illicit industry in which scammers defraud internet users globally in romance and cryptocurrency investment cons.</p><p>Known as &quot;pig-butchering&quot;, scammers groom targets for weeks before cajoling them into ploughing money into fake investment platforms and other ruses, according to experts and law enforcement.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/7/philippines-to-open-migrant-workers-office-in-cambodia-marcos-2046">Philippines to open migrant workers office in Cambodia – Marcos</a></div><p>Largely concentrated in Southeast Asia, the global cyberscam industry has reached &quot;industrial proportions&quot;, with some estimates of its annual revenues hitting $64 billion, according to a February report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.</p><p>Some of the hundreds of thousands of people carrying out scams in the region are trafficked and held against their will, while others work voluntarily.</p><p>Since a government crackdown began in July, authorities have shut down around 250 scam sites and 91 casinos, said Chhay Sinarith, senior minister on the Cambodian government&#x27;s anti-cyberscam commission. </p><p>He added that more than 200,000 people have fled scam sites and left Cambodia, and that the country has deported around 10,000 foreign nationals.</p><div><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div><div><iframe width="726" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xbn_z4twbMk" title="3 Pinoy na na-torture sa scam hub sa Cambodia nakauwi na sa Pilipinas | TV Patrol" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><iframe width="726" height="408" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R-aiPD4MOyo" title="DMW looking into alleged trafficking of Filipinos to Cambodia, Laos for crypto scam | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Fifty-three human trafficking victims were repatriated to the Philippines on Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers said.</p>

Fifty-three human trafficking victims were repatriated to the Philippines on Friday, the Department of Migrant Workers said.

DMW: 53 human trafficking victims repatriated from Cambodia

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DMW: 53 human trafficking victims repatriated from Cambodia

ABS-CBN News,

Agence France-Presse

Published March 13, 2026 10:51 AM PHT

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