Article
Philippines: Workers displaced by war suffer underpayment of wages and harsh conditions in a cigarette factory
"War sends workers to sweatshop", 28 August 2017
...A group of 41 workers, 14 of them minors, who fled economic hardship caused by the war in Marawi City...end up in a sweatshop...
The workers, from the town of Balo-i in Lanao del Norte province, were rescued from a sweatshop that produced fake cigarettes...
Supt. Ronaldo Palomo, deputy Bacolod police director for administration, said the rescued workers, all Maranaos, came to Bacolod in search of a greener pasture as life became difficult...as a result of the continuing armed conflict in Marawi...
The workers told police they were underpaid and were kept like prisoners in the factory.
...Palomo said the workers were recruited to repack products in Bacolod. They, however, ended up producing fake cigarettes and were barred from entering other areas of the factory.
The 41 workers were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for processing...