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Pinoy Abroad

Pinays rescued from sex trafficking in Sabah suffer worse conditions in prison


 

Like many Filipinas, Chona (not her real name) left her hometown to look for greener pastures elsewhere. When somebody promised her a job in a pub in Sabah, Malaysia, she immediately grabbed the opportunity.

Unfortunately, the job was not as promised.

Chona was among several Filipinas in Sabah who were forced into prostitution after they were duped by illegal recruiters who took advantage of their desperation and eagerness to earn big for their family.

In an episode of GMA News' Reporter's Notebook that aired on Thursday night, Chona said she thought she suffered enough under "Mommy," their Filipino pimp. Little did she know her life would be more miserable after she and others were arrested by Malaysian authorities.

"'Yung pagka-raid po nila sa amin, ikinulong kami na parang pumatay kami," Chona told GMA News' Maki Pulido. "Mas malala pa 'yung dinanas namin sa kulungan kaysa sa dinanas namin sa quarters namin. Parang doble 'yung dinanas namin dito."

To post bail, Chona and fellow Filipinas Loida and Gemma sought help from friends. Temporarily released, they are still required to attend hearings in connection with their illegal entry to Sabah, where they face possible fine and jail time.

"Sabi daw po makukulong pa rin kami kasi nagkasala daw po kami sa bansa nila," Chona said.

Raul H. Dado, former Philippine Charge d'Affaires in Malaysia, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) wants to help women like Chona but their entry to Sabah as GROs, albeit unwillingly, posed legal problems.

"We want to defend them and have them acquitted. People see na sila actually ay victims, hindi sila yung violators because they were hired there to go as normal workers, pero upon arrival they were made to work as GROs, all these things which are against the laws of Malaysia," Dado said.

Some cases end more tragically than Chona's, like the case of a Filipina who was found dead on the side of a road at Labuan Island after she was booked by a customer in 2016.

 

A recurring problem

Sex trafficking of Filipinas in Malaysia is a recurring problem that Reporter's Notebook first featured 10 years ago.

A number of human trafficking cases involving Filipinos in Malaysia were reported in the past four years alone, including one in 2014, 2015, 2016, and two in 2017, with one operation leading to the recovery of $3 million in cash.

"Unfortunately, these kind of cases is kind of widespread in this part of Malaysia. We have a lot of Filipinos who are experiencing the same situation, except that the only time that we know about it is when they report," Consul General Raly Tejada said.

An unknown number of these were victims of human and sexual trafficking, one of the most profitable organized crimes in the world that rakes in $32 billion every year.

Permanent representation needed

In spite of its Tier 1 ranking in the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP), the Philippines remains a huge source country for trafficked persons.

The Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking (IACAT) was formed in response to this and has so far convicted 232 traffickers from 2011 to 2016.

But even with IACAT and the DFA, there is no guarantee that Filipino victims of human trafficking will get the support that they need.

Experts are calling for permanent Philippine representation in the area to improve the DFA's response to the cases of Filipinos in Sabah.

Establishing an official diplomatic presence in the area will also offer greater access to distressed Filipinos like Chona, who had trouble contacting the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

"Ang sabi po sa amin hintayin nyo na lang ang tawag. Kung may tatawag sa inyo, kukunin ang number niyo. Tapos hinintay ko po ang tawag, kapag tinatawagan ko po dine-decline nila yung tawag namin," she said.

Greater security at ports, airports, and backdoor channels into the country were also called for to prevent traffickers from smuggling Filipinos into the Malaysian state.

Tejada remained hopeful that they can convince Malaysian authorities to release Filipinos detained after their rescue from sex dens, despite the legal difficulties attached to the process.

"We are here to intervene on their behalf. Hopefully, we can convince the authorities here to to respect their rights and provide them the necessary legal protection. And hopefully mapauwi natin sila," he said.

For now, the DFA will send funds to the Embassy in Malaysia to hire lawyers for the Filipinas and investigate the scale of illegal trafficking in the country with IACAT and the Department of Justice. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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