Locsin’s announcement follows a report published earlier this week in the Washington Post about at least 35 Filipinos who were recruited to work in the UAE but instead were sold to Syrian servitude and subject to abuse.

Some of those interviewed by the daily said they had arrived in the UAE on 30-day tourist visas. They claimed the recruitment agencies that brought them to the Gulf locked them up until their visas expired, and then they were sold for between $8,000 and $10,000 and taken to Syria.

Those who managed to escape sought refuge at the Philippine mission in Damascus. Some of them reported abuse at the hands of embassy staff.

“I am emptying the shelters of all wards — no later than the next flight out; sending a team to do it. It won’t happen again,” Locsin said in a series of tweets, as he thanked the Washington Post for the report on Tuesday.

“Oh hell. I will wring the necks of those in the Philippine Embassy in Damascus who failed to report this. My President will expect no less from me. Hell is coming,” Locsin said in another tweet.

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