Newsbreak Chats: How, Why Diplomats Get Away With Exploiting Migrant Workers

MANILA, Philippines — Amid the promise of a better life, countless Filipinos venture abroad in search of opportunities that can bring more to the table.

Fueled by dreams of a brighter future, they grapple with everyday experiences of maltreatment at the hands of employers, a plight made worse by the realization that their abusers hold diplomatic positions.

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In a recent Rappler investigation, 208 migrant domestic workers in 18 countries filed complaints against 160 diplomats and international organization employees for mistreatment.

Many domestic workers claimed their diplomat employers engaged in wage theft, paying them excessively low amounts or not paying them at all.

In this latest episode of Newsbreak Chats, Rappler investigative head Chay Hofileña talks with investigative reporter Ana Santos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad, and Rappler forensics researcher Pauline Macaraeg about their investigation into the situation of Filipino migrant workers abused by their diplomat employers. 

They also explore how these diplomats, involved in the trafficking and exploitation of domestic workers, manage to exploit the protection afforded them by diplomatic immunity.

Watch Newsbreak Chats on Thursday, August 31, at 4 pm.