Human trafficking cases in GenSan increase - report

Sun.Star: GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Sheila, Valerie and Bridget (not their real names), who hail from poor families here, have set their sights to as far as Manila, Brunei, and Japan for employment to alleviate the plight of their respective families. However, instead of working as domestic helpers, they ended up as prostitutes. Their recruiters vanished. "They have been promised heaven, but hell greeted them," Rebecca Magante, secretariat head of the Local Inter-Agency Task Force Against Trafficking in Person (Liatfat), stressed how the three became victims of human trafficking. The trio's cases were among the 11 filed in the courts of General Santos since the task force was created in 2005. The task force was in response to the signing of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003. Trafficking of persons refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim's consent or knowledge. This may be within or across national borders. It could also be by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion. Abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position could also be used as means. Trafficking also refers to taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person. Control over another person for the purpose of exploitation, which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs can also be considered as trafficking. Violation of the act entails an imprisonment of six years to life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P2 million. General Santos is not only considered as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines but has also been considered a "hotspot" because of the proliferation of bars and transit houses. This is according to the Visayan Forum Foundation, a non-government organization that seeks to help curb human trafficking incidence in the country. Human trafficking proliferates in the city with the presence of sea and airports, as well as its proximity to neighboring East Asian countries like Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This city also serves as gateway for overland transport for the southern and central parts of Mindanao. On top of its strategic location, human trafficking thrives in this city in what Magante termed as parental consent. "The sad fact is that parents egged their children to bite the offer of the recruiters in the hope these children would send back money to the family," she said. Of the estimated population of 507,945, Magante reported that 204 individuals have been victims of human trafficking, or about .04 percent. From 2003 to 2007, human trafficking violation reared its ugly head in 21 of the city's 26 barangays (villages), 20 of them in Lagao and 13 in Apopong. About 89 victims came outside the city. Even if the figure is low for the past four years, Magante believed that this is still significant considering it involves violation of individual's rights. "Victims in previous years were children, but for 2005 to 2007, adults also became primary victims. This means that trafficking cuts across all ages," Magante said. Of the 204 cases of human trafficking from 2003 to 2007, 87 were less than 18 years old and the rest were of legal ages. There were more female victims than males. Only 11 cases have been filed in local courts, 10 at the barangay level, while 183 have not been filed at all, according to Liatfat data. Rose Delima, City Social Welfare and Development Office point person for human trafficking, explained that only a few cases have reached the courts due to the lack of interests of the aggrieved parties to go after the suspects. "After the victims are in the custody of the parents or their relatives, they no longer care to pursue the case. They consider it a hassle as they try to eke a living," Delima said. In fact, in most cases the task force responded, Delima stressed they are cast as the "villains." "I'm used to being shouted with invectives," she confided. "The victims often thought that we're obstructing their dreams for a better life when we rescued them, but in fact we're just protecting them from the claws of exploitation," Delima explained. Prosecutor Elmer Lastimosa, Liatfat chair, said there is still no conviction in so far as cases of human trafficking in the city are concerned. "There's a need to build a strong case backed up by sufficient evidence and investigation to prevent acquittal or dismissal during preliminary investigation," he said. Lastimosa added the prosecutor's office have been coordinating with various law enforcement agencies and concerned government agencies to ensure the successful prosecution of cases. "We are one with you in this fight to protect our vulnerable workers from exploitation," he assured, adding also that efforts of the task force have been geared towards prevention. In the rest of the country, there were only 10 convictions so far for violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act since it became effective in 2003, Magante said. To drum up public support against human trafficking, Magante said a massive information education is needed to enlighten the constituents and prevent them from being tempted by recruiters. Magante pointed out that majority of the victims since 2003 have reached only secondary level of education, thus tempting offers easily convinced them. On the other hand, social worker Delima said that recruiters try to convince their targets by wooing persons close to them, such as immediate family members, relatives and friends. To counter this, Delima added they have been conducting human trafficking orientations in the barangay levels down to the puroks. "Human trafficking is hard to lick but with the help of the many sectors in society, nothing is impossible," she stressed. - Sun.Star