Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand is alarmed
to hear reports of illegal surveillance and blatant
intimidation tactics being used on victims of illegal
recruitment in Aotearoa New Zealand. We have received
information that unidentified men, dressed as police
officers, have been loitering outside the homes of relatives
of the whistleblower who exposed the large-scale illegal
recruiter. These police officers or people pretending to be
police, are likely related to the person currently being
investigated by NZ authorities for immigration related
offences. According to the victim, the men asked for the
victim’s relatives’ personal information including names
of children and the victim’s home address in the
Philippines.
While the illegal recruiter and their
business cannot be named due to an ongoing legal process,
Migrante Aotearoa has been assisting victims of this illegal
recruiter since last year and is now coordinating with
Migrante International home office in the Philippines to
support many other victims currently in the Philippines.
Appropriate charges have been filed against the perpetrator
and are awaiting sentencing in New Zealand, however no
charges have been laid yet in the Philippines. This is most
likely the impetus for the recent acts of harassment against
the victims who have spoken out against this illegal
recruiter – to intimidate them from helping in the
fulfillment of similar legal cases in the
Philippines.
This Easter Sunday harassment of the
victim’s family is part of a deliberate tactic to silence
the victims, who were wrongfully duped of their money,
efforts and hopes for a better future. Migrante Aotearoa
condemns this blatant act of surveillance and harassment,
especially in the context of the ongoing legal proceedings
against the illegal recruiter in Aotearoa New Zealand. These
tactics add undue stress and anxiety on the victims who have
already suffered enough, not to mention to their family
members as well.
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The recruiter has been warning the
victims about such powerful connections with the police and
military in the Philippines. This is why many remained
silent about their plight as victims of human trafficking
and migrant workers exploitation. Though this latest report
may be disturbing, it underscores the lengths at which
illegal recruiters and other exploiters of migrants will go
to deny justice to the people they have preyed on. In this
light, we are calling out the Department of Migrant Workers
(DMW) and the government of President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to
take immediate action on this case and to ensure the safety
of all Filipino migrant workers and their
families—especially those brave enough to speak out. The
Philippines must not turn a blind eye to the growing number
of migrant workers being preyed upon by exploitative
recruiters. Protection, justice, and accountability must be
urgently delivered to all victims of human trafficking and
migrant workers
exploitation.
