Human Trafficking in the Visayas and Cebu Province: A Situationer and The Expanded Anti-Traffic and Persons Act of 2012 was the topic of a most interesting discussion in the Women’s Kapihan which I host every second Saturday at 2:00 – 3:00 PM at radio dyLA. Lawyers Liza Jorda and Noemi Abarrientos were the guests of our regular panel of Cebu Women’s Network (CWN) officers and members.
Atty. Jorda, our main guest, is an Assistant City Prosecutor in Tacloban City. She is currently detailed at the Cebu Regional Office while waiting for her appointment.
She was a recent Ninoy-Cory Awardee for Public Service and was sent by the US Embassy to the US for a three-month exposure program on practices on dealing with human trafficking there. Atty. Abarrientos, meanwhile, has been a frequent resource person of the program.
We discussed the root causes of human trafficking.
Atty. Jorda noted that in the Philippines it is poverty. In the US, it has more to do with problematic runaways, teenagers rebelling against their parents, leading them to become vulnerable victims of recruiters or pimps.
In Tacloban, victims of supertyphoon Yolanda have become susceptible to human trafficking, she added. But before any entrapment operation of suspected traffickers by authorities, there is a clear coordination with prosecutors.
Atty. Jorda noted how US government deals with trafficked victims compared to the Philippines. In the Philippines, we have two laws: RA 9208 and RA 10364. In the US, the Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 seeks to combat trafficking by promoting a policy of three P’s: Prosecution, involving passing laws criminalizing trafficking and jailing abusers; Protection by identifying victims and providing them with medical care and shelter; and Prevention by raising awareness of inhuman practices involved in the human trafficking trade.
After her three-month stay in the States, she is writing a book on how to combat human trafficking. It will present recommendations on continuing education about human trafficking and the need for a more effective task force in the Philippines.
She will submit it to the US Embassy and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. She will also cite in her book her appreciation for the US cooperative efforts in solving the problem in the Philippines.
Atty. Abarrientos said that in Cebu, there are fiscals who focus on handling human trafficking in hotels, with an effort by the police to improve awareness regarding trafficking in Cebu. She cited the need for more effective prevention. She also recommended the Children’s Legal Bureau for the safety of victims, thankful that we have good prosecutors.
Atty. Jorda, with her training and continuing observation of the problem in Cebu, cited most of the causes are, besides poverty, the promise of a good life, while in the US, minors leave unhappy homes and turn to drugs. Their lack and need for love is valuable to recruiters. There they have laws, among them the Traffic Production Act so they can deal legally with victims.
This was one Kapihan on a very relevant topic that drew the panel’s reactions.
CWN chairperson Thelma Chiong expressed concern over the activities of human traffic recruiters locally called “corridoras”. CWN auditor Fe Cabatingan worried about minors and others who are promised work, and even travel abroad, which Noemi confirmed.
Fe also complained about the local social welfare department for “not being too active” in addressing the problem, and the need for more active government and public concern.
As part of civil society, NGOs , the mass media and the public can contribute what they can to make the enforcement of anti-traffikcing laws more effective.
Meanwhile, we continue to be beset by other local and national concerns about the environment such as massive storms, typhoons, flooding, landslides, and the alert over the pending eruption of Mt. Mayon.
There’s also peace and order issues in Mindanao that the approved peace agreement with the Bangsamoro will hopefully mitigate and eventually end. We also have to cope with local peace and order issues, what with increased thefts and major robberies. President Aquino’s goodwill and business tour in Europe started with Spain.
These topics can hold for next week.
Until then, as always, may God continue to bless us, one and all!
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