Efforts underway to bring home detained Filipino tourist in Myanmar

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 31) — The Philippine government is working to bring home the Filipino tourist who is currently detained in Myawaddy, Myanmar.

“I’m pretty sure the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) is doing everything it can to bring her home,” Department of Migrant Workers Sec. Toots Ople told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Tuesday.

She noted this will not be easy since Myawaddy, which is a town in southeastern Myanmar close to the border with Thailand, is a remote area.

The DFA said in a statement on Monday it is working on the repatriation of Samson, along with the Filipinos who were rescued by Myanmar authorities from their worksites in the town.

“Among the Filipinos whose repatriation we are working on is Ms. Kiela Samson, whose family members are now directly in touch with our Embassy in Yangon,” the agency said.

CNN Philippines has asked DFA for more information about the case of Samson, but the department has yet to reply.

In an interview with ANC’s Rundown, the Samson family rejected the possibility that Kiela was working in Myanmar. This was amid the issue on Filipinos getting lured to work there as crypto scammers.

Her mother Eunice said her daughter and a friend flew to Thailand on Dec. 7 to tour the country as a gift for herself.

“Ang sabi nya po samin, naglilibot daw po sila ng Thailand that time tapos nakarating sila sa Mae Sot. May pinuntahan silang isang pasyalan, may nag-alok po sa kanila ng bangka. Na-intriga daw po sila kasi ang ganda daw po ng bangka,” Kiela’s sister Elaine said.

[Translation: She told us they were touring Thailand that time until they reached Mae Sot. They went to a tourist spot there where someone offered a boat ride. They got interested because the boat was attractive.]

“Ang sabi sa kanila, pagtawid daw po ng ilog may pasyalan daw po doon kaya pumunta po silang magkaibigan,” she added.

[Translation: They were told after crossing the river, there is a tourist spot there so they went.]

Elaine said both her sister and her friend were arrested and detained in a police station. Based on their communication with Kiela, there are also other Filipinos detained there who were abused.

Kiela told her family not to send messages too often so as not to get caught.

Their last video call with Kiela was on Jan. 19, when the she told her family that they will be released the next day which did not happen.

The Samson family reached out to the DFA for assistance.

Meanwhile, Ople reiterated the department’s reminder to Filipinos who are interested in working abroad to refrain from engaging with recruiters on social media.

“Recruiters who promise Filipinos jobs abroad, if they pretend to be tourists and evade our controls, are just leading our kababayans (fellow citizens) to dangerous situations where it may be very difficult to secure their safety and assist them in returning home,” the DFA also said.