MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported the repatriation of twenty-four (24) Filipinos who were allegedly trafficked and forced to work in online “love scam” operations in Cambodia.

The group arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in the early morning of February 14 aboard a Philippine Airlines flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said many of those repatriated are in their twenties and were lured through online job advertisements promising high salaries for so-called “love scammers” or “love finders,” purportedly in digital marketing roles abroad.

Viado explained that once deployed, the recruits were forced to engage…