Five Filipinas who fell victim to illegal recruiters and escaped from their employers have been rescued, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday.

Citing a report from the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, the DFA said: one was assisted Dec. 29, 2011; another was rescued Jan. 8, 2012, and three were assisted Jan. 10, 2012.

Two of the five victims were repatriated to the Philippines on Monday, the DFA said. The Consulate is providing the remaining three victims with temporary accommodation as they are waiting for Chinese authorities to finish the investigation.

“The five victims, all women between 22 to 41 years of age, were recruited by a Filipina based in Macau to work as English tutors to wealthy families in China, despite having only tourist and business visas,” the DFA said .

The five were rescued with the assistance of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau and local police in Shenzhen.

An investigation showed the victims were promised a salary of RMB4,800 (around US$800) a month and valid visa for six months.

However, they were actually employed as household workers with a salary of only RMB3,800 a month ($500).

They were also informed by the agency upon arrival that they have to work for at least two months without any salary because they need to pay their visa fee amounting to RMB8,000 ($1,300) each.

The DFA said three of the five previously worked legally as household service workers in Hong Kong.

One of the Filipinos, aged 28, had permanent employment in the province. The youngest Filipino graduated from college only last year.

WARNING TO THE PUBLIC

The DFA warned the public that foreign household service workers are not allowed in mainland China.

“However, illegal recruiters continue to conduct massive recruitment to China due to the continuous desire of Filipinos to work abroad.  Sadly, there are Filipino illegal recruiters who take advantage of their fellow Filipinos,” it said.

It added the illegal recruitment of Filipinos to China also leads to the increasing number of overstaying cases.

The penalty for overstaying is a minimum detention of one month and payment of RMB5,000 (US$750) as penalty.

The Consulate urged Filipinos who wish to work abroad to inquire directly from concerned Philippine government agencies like the DFA and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, so as not to become victims of illegal recruitment and human-trafficking.*GMA News