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.

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.

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