Mothers of Cambodia trafficking victims want justice for their daughters

The mothers of two women who were trafficked to Cambodia and repatriated on Sunday are calling for justice for their daughters.

Lolita Bacarra’s daughter left the Philippines on January 9 after being promised a job as a customer service representative with a $700 monthly salary. She had worked thrice abroad before receiving the so-called offer from a stranger she met on Facebook.

The victim told her sister-in-law, Joy Noto, that she would be working as a domestic helper in Hong Kong to provide a better life for her four children.

But she ended up in an online scam hub in Cambodia.

Noto said she had warned the victim.

“Kasi po hindi nagpapakita ng mukha niya. Wala pong mukha. Sabi ko pag hindi nag-send ng mukha sa iyo, huwag kang umalis dahil hindi mo naman kilala yan,” Noto told GMA Integrated News.

(They didn't show their face. I told her if they don't send you their picture, don't leave because you don't know them.)

“Hindi siya nagpaalam kasi alam niyang pipigilan ko siya,” Bacarra said.

9She didn't tell us she was leaving because she knew I would stop her.)

The victim learned of her real “task” when she was brought to a scam hub in Cambodia.

“Ang iii-scam daw nila, malalaking tao na may business. Pero Pilipino rin,” Bacarra said. 

(They were told they were going to scam bug business people, also Filipinos.)

“Ginawa po sila roon na housekeeping. Naglilinis ng mga palikuran, kung anu-anong pinapagawa sa kanila. Tapos nandoon yung sinasaktan na raw sila,” she added.

(They made them housekeepers. They were made to clean toilets and they made them do other stuff. And they hurt them too.)

Rescued from torture

Erlinda Alberca’s daughter arrived in Cambodia on March 6.

“Ang taas daw ng bakod tapos ang dami raw mga de baril. Umpisa pa lang, kinabahan na sila. Bakit daw ganoon ang pinagdalhan sa kanila. Ang ginawa ng anak ko, sabi niya, humingi sila ng tulong sa embassy,” Alberca said.

(She said the walls were high and there were a lot of people with guns. From the start they were apprehensive, asking why they were brought to such a place. What my daughter did was ask help from the embassy.)

“May mga sinasapak daw, tinatadyakan… March 10 'yon. Umaksiyon sila March 19. Kinuha po sila roon. Pero bago sila kinuha, yung tao sa scam doon, pinagtatadyakan sila. Tinatanong sino nagsumbong sa pulis ng embassy. Hindi sila nagsasalita. Ang ginawa, tinutukan sila ng baril, pinalo sila ng baril, tinadyakan, tapos pinagsusuntok pa raw sila roon,” Alberca added.

(Some were hit, beaten. That was on March 10. They acted on March 19. They were rescued. But before they got out, the scammers started hitting them, asking who told the embassy police. They didn't say anything. They pointed a gun at them, hit them with the gun, and started pinching them.)

When Bacarra and Alberca learned of their daughters’ plight, they immediately sought help from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Migrant Workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

“Sabi niya ipasa raw namin yung mga dokumento ng anak ko. Pinasa namin… Ang sabi ng NBI, wala raw po silang alam doon kasi hindi raw yon Pilipinas para galugarin nila na matulungan ang mga biktima na nandoon,” Bacarra said.

(They told us to submit our daughters' documents. We gave it to them. The NBI told us they could do noothing as this was not in the Philippines where they could go to the place and help the victims there.)

When asked if they will still allow their daughters to seek employment abroad, both mothers said no.

“Nakaka-phobia po eh. Mamaya hindi ko na po makita yung anak ko. Pero siguro magpapahinga muna siya. Maghahanapbuhay siya rito sa Pilipinas kasi kahit siguro naman siya nagka-phobia at natakot na sa nangyari sa kanya doon. Ganundin kami,” Bacarra replied.

(It was phobia-inducing. She will probably get some rest first. She'll find some work here in the Philippines because what happened to her has made her afraid. Us too.)

“Hindi na po. Nadala na po ako. Kasi dati sabi lehitimo raw yon, legal daw po tapos hindi naman pala totoo… Mag-ingat na siya sa susunod na mga kausap niya. Huwag siyang basta-basta kumakagat sa mga sinasabi sa kanya kasi marami palang scammer sa FB,” Alberca said.

(No. They told her it was legitimate, it was legal, but it wasn't true. She has to be careful with who she talks to in the future. She shouldn't just believe what people are telling her because there are a lot of scammers on Facebook.)

Both mothers want the government to act on their daughters’ cases.

“Hindi naman siguro sila may kasalanan. Dapat po bigyan sila ng hustisya… Kaya po kami nandito, para hindi na paulit-ulit na nangyayari sa mga Pilipinong babae at lalaki na ganyan po, naii-scam hub sa Cambodia,” Bacarra said.

(They are not the ones at fault. They must have justice. That is why we are here, so that this won't keep happening to Filipino women and men, ending up in scam hubs in Cambodia.)

“Sana maagapan ng gobyerno para wala nang biktima,” Alberca said.

(I hope the government can stop this so there won't be any more victims.)

Migrante International and the United Methodist Church said they will help the trafficking victims, including in filing cases.

“Handa po kaming tumulong sa 10 biktima at iba pang nais magsampa kahit na sila ay nakauwi na nang matagal na panahon o ilang taon na,” Joanna Concepcion of Migrante International said.

(We are ready to help the ten victims and others who want to file complaints, even if they have been home for years now.)

“Ito ay isang sintomas, symptom na may sakit ang ating bansa talaga. Ang kahirapan na nagbubunsod sa mga puwersahang migrasyon ay hindi nabibigyan ng kalutasan ng ating gobyerno,” Rev Marie Sol Villalon of the United Methodist Church added.

(This is a symptom of our country's sickness. The government is not finding solutions for the hardships caused by forced migrations.) — BM, GMA Integrated News