DOLE: 5 trafficked Pinays rescued in Malaysia

At least five female Filipino workers believed to have fallen victim to a human trafficking ring were rescued from Malaysia, labor officials said. The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuala Lumpur rescued the five last Oct. 31, and identified the alleged trafficker as Alfred Lim. "I have received a report from Labor Attaché Hassan Gabra T. Jumdain, our head of POLO in Kuala Lumpur, that five female Filipino workers who have slipped to Malaysia on 'tourist visa' are now in the safe custody of the POLO, after they were rescued," Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in an article posted on the government portal. Citing the report from Jumdain, Baldoz said Lim is now "facing charges in court for various crimes including human trafficking." Baldoz identified the rescued workers as Ma. Wenlove Beverly Armecin, Iris Tapere, Amelita Sinoy, Anabel Villegas, and Judith Dolores. Armecin and Tapere hail from Sugod, Cebu; Sinoy hails from Alabel, South Cotabato; Villegas from Bamban, Tarlac; and Dolores from Tagum, Davao del Norte. The five were "pulled out" from an abusive employer, Alaq Bin Abdul Rahman, after the workers wrote the POLO requesting for assistance. Jumdain reported the POLO, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy's Assistance To Nationals (ATN) unit and the Malaysian police and immigration authorities, are now preparing for the repatriation of the workers. "This also serves as a warning to our prospective overseas workers to be very wary of people offering them jobs abroad on tourist visas. These are bogus offers and will more likely consign the takers into distressed situations, like being trafficked and abused," Baldoz said. — RSJ, GMANews.TV