MANILA (October 1) —According to the US Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Philippine government has failed to adequately protect human trafficking victims in unlawful scam hubs.
According to the report, the Philippines maintained its Tier 1 position by demonstrating “serious efforts” to combat trafficking, such as prosecuting traffickers, sentencing them to significant prison sentences, implementing laws to protect fishermen, and taking steps to disrupt trafficking in internet scam hubs.
It also mentioned the government’s ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which were frequently used as fronts for trafficking migrant workers.
Despite these efforts, the State Department reported that the Philippines fell short in screening for trafficking victims during POGO raids.
“The government did not report identifying any foreign victims exploited in these operations,” the study stated, implying that officials may have unfairly penalized individuals who were truly trafficked.
In contrast to 2023, when authorities collaborated with an international organization to identify 362 overseas trafficking victims, no such victims were recorded in 2024.
According to the Department of State, authorities deported thousands of Asian laborers, including Chinese, but their efforts were hampered by the failure to identify the victims.
“Officials deported the overwhelming majority of foreign nationals it arrested from these operations without identifying them as trafficking victims—totaling at least 3,000 foreign nationals during the reporting period,” the department claimed.
Following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decree to prohibit offshore gaming, a widespread crackdown on POGOs ensued.
Authorities, on the other hand, lacked solid figures on the entire number of trafficked victims, including those associated with POGOs.
According to the report, this “contributed to the deportation of some unidentified victims to countries where they may have faced retribution or hardship, and in some cases, prosecution in their country of origin solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.”
Some officials also failed to use “trauma-informed practices” while screening victims, according to the report.
