MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is working closely with Lao authorities to facilitate the release and extraction of distressed overseas Filipinos (OFs) from the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ) in Bokeo Province, Lao PDR.
According to the DFA, the Philippine Embassy in Vientiane has sent a team to Bokeo province to commence the facilitation.
The DFA confirmed that it has responded to 129 requests for assistance, while seven (7) Filipinos were already repatriated on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Embassy is currently arranging the repatriation of 75 more Filipinos from Laos.
Two officials from DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) are now in Laos to assist as part of the DFA’s Rapid Response Team, the DFA said.
“The team stands ready to assist Filipinos who may still be remaining in the Golden Triangle and will continue to work with Lao authorities to ensure their safety,” the DFA stated.
Courtesy of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
Earlier, Lao and Chinese security forces detained 711 people in the GTSEZ during a joint operation conducted ahead of a deadline for illegal call centers in the special economic zone to shut down.
In a report from Radio Free Asia, Lao authorities have confirmed that “among the 771 people detained were 275 Laotians, 231 Burmese and 108 Chinese.”
“Other nationalities included people from the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Vietnam,” Lao Ministry of Public Security mentioned in its website.
The Golden Triangle SEZ along the Mekong River in Bokeo province in northern Laos has been a gambling and tourism hub catering to Chinese visitors, as well as a haven for online fraud, human trafficking, prostitution and illegal drug activities, Radio Free Asia reported.
The Lao government’s closure order came after an Aug. 9 meeting between the Bokeo provincial governor, high-ranking officials from the Lao Ministry of Public Security, and Zhao Wei, the chairman of the Golden Triangle SEZ, Radio Free Asia added.
The joint raids with Chinese authorities began on Aug. 12, according to the Lao Ministry of Public Security website.
