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news The Manila Times FRIDAY July 23, 2010


Filipina experiences cruelty in Malaysia T


BY BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON REPORTER


HE indomitable Filipino spirit has saved the country a couple of times in the past, and this same


spirit is the very reason why an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Malaysia managed to escape the cruelty and inhuman treatment


of a human trafficker and her employers. A victim of human trafficking, the former OFW—whom the Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute asked the media not to identify by name—narrated her story in clear and startling detail that by the time she finished, eve- ryone in the crowded seventh floor room of the G Hotel by Waterfront in Roxas Boulevard, Manila was staring in awe at how she was able to escape and survive the brutality she experienced in the hands of both the person who recruited her and her employers.


She said that a recruiter, who also cannot be named for purposes of security and the human traffick- ing case filed against him, ap- proached her and promised to give her a job in Malaysia in exchange for a recruitment fee. “Ako naman ay na-enganyo na mag- apply [I was excited to apply],” the victim added.


She did not disclose how much she paid to the recruiter but ac- cording to reports, the processing fee for illegal transactions can go as high as P10,000.


Four million Filipino families remain hungry–SWS


ABOUT four million Filipino fami- lies experienced involuntary hun- ger at least once in the second quarter of 2010, according to a na- tionwide survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from June 25 to 28. The survey showed that 21.1 percent of the 1,200 respondents had nothing to eat for at least one day from April to June 2010. This is lower than the 21.2 percent in the January to March 2010 “hun- ger” survey, or the record high 24 percent in the October to Decem- ber 2009 survey.


The SWS said that although over- all hunger went down, the compo- sition worsened because severe hun- ger rose by 1.4 percent and moder- ate hunger fell by 1.5 percent. It de- fined “severe hunger” as having lit- tle to eat “often” or “always” in the last three months. Families falling under “moderate hunger” experi- ence it only “once” or “a few times” in the last three months.


The percentage of families who experienced severe hunger rose from 2.8 percent, or an estimated 530,000 families in March, to 4.2 percent, or about 780,000 families in June. Moderate hunger went down from 18.4 percent, or about 3.4 million families in March, to 16.9 percent, or about 3.2 million


■ UNAFFECTED FROM A1 Toy market unaffected


said in a roundtable with editors and reporters of The Manila Times. She added that her company,


Richwell, believes that every child deserves a happy childhood and that toys “give them happiness they cannot forget.” Yao said that Richwell Trading started in 1980 as a trader of vehicle tires in Quezon City before becom- ing a leading distributor of toys and children’s apparel.


She added that her company began selling Barbie dolls in 1982, when most Filipinos thought they were ex- pensive and impractical. They were confident that nothing could go wrong with the world’s most popular doll. Then came orders from depart- ment stores as well as bookstores. “And, as they say, the rest is his-


tory,” Yao said.


She pointed out that Barbie dolls and spin-off products such as school supplies,


bags, shoes and clothes now account for about a fourth of total company sales. Later on, Richwell Trading also be- came the exclusive distributor of Hot Wheels, Matchbox, VTech electronic toys, Pigeon baby products and other well-known brands. Besides toys, the company also licenses and distributes shoes and apparels of the brands they carry. It also operates Barbie, Chicco and Kids Depot outlets. Its affiliate, Europlay Distributor Co. Inc., meanwhile distributes Chicco and Mega Bloks, among others. “We have been constantly grow-


ing,” Yao said. Four years ago, Richwell intro- duced a lower-priced brand, Star Kids, whose toys are priced just be- tween P49 and P199. Yao said Richwell Trading is com- mitted to providing affordable, good quality and safe products that chil- dren, as well as adults, would enjoy.


families in June. In Metro Manila, overall hunger


went up from an estimated 432,000 families, or 17.3 percent in March, to an estimated 550,000 families, or 22.percent in June. In Mindanao hunger also rose from an estimated one million families, or 24 percent, to an estimated 1.1 million families, or 26 percent. In the Balance Luzon or areas out- side Metro Manila, overall hunger fell from 1.7 million families, or 20.9 percent, to 1.5 million fami- lies, or 18.3 percent, while that in the Visayas saw little change—from 800,000 million families, or 21.2 percent, to 790,000 million fami- lies, or 21 percent.


In Metro Manila, moderate hun- ger rose by almost six points, from 13.3 percent in March to 19 percent in June. In Balance Luzon, hunger went down by 18.1 percent to 14 percent, and from 18.8 percent to 17.3 percent in the Visayas. It hardly changed in Mindanao, from a 21.4 percent to 21 percent.


The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It has a mar- gin of error of plus/minus 3 percent nationwide, and plus/minus 6 per- cent in specific areas. JOVEE MARIE N. DELA CRUZ


In a matter of three days, she said that her papers and that of her com- panions were processed. They were later given instructions on what to do at the airport upon the depar- ture for Malaysia.


The former OFW said that the re-


cruiter asked them to wear white t- shirt, and that he placed a sticker on the back of their passports, which will make it easier for an im- migration officer at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga to identify them.


Corrupt Filipino


immigration officer Before going to the airport on the day of their departure, they were first asked to meet an immigra- tion officer who told them to make sure they will line up at the window of the immigration desk that he was manning. “Kung saan stall ako, doon kayo pipila para mabilis paglabas ninyo [Go to the window where I am assigned so you can exit faster],” she quoted


■ SOMALIA FROM A1 Human trafficking cases


. . . Unless efforts are made, or the President [Benigno Aquino 3rd] signs a waiver [to ask for consideration] from US President Barrack Obama, we will be downgraded to Tier 3,” Flores- Oebanda said during the Dialogue on Human Trafficking between Civil So- ciety and Leaders in Government held at the G Hotel in Manila. At Tier 1, a country is at full com- pliance with the minimum standards of the Trafficking and Violence Pro- tection Act (TVPA). Countries under the Tier 2 are those who have made significant efforts to comply with the act, and Tier 3 countries are those who did not make any effort at all to comply with the Trafficking and Vio- lence Protection Act. The Philippines, according to the US State Department report, was placed at Tier 2 in 2008 and at Tier 2 watchlist in 2009. The Philippines can be down- graded to Tier 3 by the US unless mini- mum compliance standards are met by the Aquino administration. If downgraded to Tier 3, the Philip- pines will be subjected to various sanc- tions, including the withholding of all non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance and elimination of educational and cultural exchange pro- grams for government officials. There is also a risk of losing


$250-million worth of foreign as- sistance for defense and security funding in Mindanao.


Philippines cries unfair Foreign Affairs Undersecretary


Esteban Conejos Jr., who heads the office on migrant affairs, said that the US report “is unfair, discriminatory and not founded on facts.” He added that the same report gave the Philip- pines a grade 9 in almost all impor- tant aspects—prevention, protection and partnership—except prosecution. Conejos added that the report does “not accurately reflect what the execu- tive and legislative is doing.” He argued, however, that the coun-


try’s inability to prosecute human traf- fickers was “a matter of perceptions.”


■ CORRUPTION FROM A1 Businesses hopeful on Aquino vs. corruption


investment firm TLC Beatrice LLC, said at a roundtable with The Manila Times editors and re- porters that the foreign community has been tak- ing notice of the Philippines since President Aquino assumed power. “Because we have a good president, everybody is looking to the Philippines so there are a lot of opportunities here,” she added.


She cited tourism as one of the strong points of the country, which she described as “nature’s Disneyland.”


“They cannot ma- nufacture a Mayon


Volcano. Disneyland cannot repeat the corals we have. They cannot copy what the Philip- pines has in terms of beautiful natural re- sources,” Lewis explained. She stressed, however, that the Philippines


would be a conducive destination for businesses if widespread corruption in the bureaucracy is eliminated, as vowed by the President. “It’s difficult to establish a business here because of the many shenanigans. In the [United] States, you can establish a business in one day,” Lewis added. She narrated that drivers of her company in Sorsogon had to pay different people to get their


Conejos noted that the difference be- tween “illegal recruitment and human trafficking,” and said that intent has to be established at the time of the recruit- ment in order to define between the two different violations.


Still, Flores-Oebanda said that the country was placed at Tier 2 watchlist in the US report because it did “not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of traf- ficking and further efforts need to be taken to address the significant level of corruption that allows serious traf- ficking crimes to continue.” She added that “there were reports that officials in government units and agencies assigned to enforce laws against human trafficking permitted trafficking offenders to conduct illegal activities, either tacitly or explicitly.” This month, a few weeks after Jus- tice Secretary Leila de Lima took office, 20 officials of the Bureau of Immigra- tion were given 90-day suspensions after de Lima reversed the earlier rul- ing of former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra. He had junked the recommen- dation of a panel of state prosecutors to file administrative charges against the accused immigration officials. The 20 immigration personnel were allegedly part of a human-trafficking syndicate operating in the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga, and victimizing Fili- pino workers bound for Malaysia.


Report cites specifics Flores-Oebanda said that the US re-


port specifically noted that the Phil- ippines failed to resolve human trafficking cases. Of the 900 re- ported cases of human trafficking, only 380 cases were filed in court, and there were only 18 convictions since the law, Republic Act 9209, or The Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, was passed in 2003. In 2009, law enforcement agencies referred 228 alleged trafficking cases to the Department of Justice, but prosecutors initiated only 206 cases. The report said: “Greater progress


the immigration officer as saying. “Binigyan siya [immigration of-


ficer] ng pera ng driver ng van pero hindi ko na nakita kung magkano [The immigration officer was given money by the van driver but I don’t know how much],” the victim said. True enough, the victim said that they did not have any problems in passing through the immigration officer whom they earlier met. Upon arriving in Malaysia, they


were also told to stand outside the airport with the back of their pass- ports in plain view so the agent who was supposed to pick them up can easily identify them. After they were retrieved at the airport by the agent, they were all brought to a house where their pass- ports, mobile phones and money were all confiscated. “Ang natira lang sa amin ay yung damit namin [We were only left with our clothings],” she said.


The victim then found out that


there were no jobs waiting for her in Malaysia, forcing her to abandon


the agent’s house and to look for a job on her own.


But she said that what she expe- rienced in her employer’s home was truly inhumane. “Hayop po yung turing sa amin


doon. Hindi pang tao ang trabaho namin [They treated us like beasts. The work they gave us was not fit for humans],” the victim said. “Walang kain, walang sweldo at sinasaktan pa din kami [We were not given food and wages and we were physically harmed],” she added.


Almost no way out The victim also said that she had to


work from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. with no food most of the time. She was also battered by her employers whenever she made even the slightest mistake. She added that because she could not take what she had been going through with her employer, she decided to go back to the agent’s house, only to find out and witness with her own eyes that some of her companions—about


in prosecution and conviction of both labor and sex trafficking offenders are essential for the government of the Philippines to demonstrate significant and increasing progress toward com- pliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.” The Philippines is the third- most leading source of migrant workers, next to China and India. Of the nine million overseas Fili- pino workers (OFWs) abroad, only 13 percent are professionals. “The remaining percentage [per- forms some of the most] demean- ing works . . . [but] nothing is wrong with Philippines working abroad as long as they are pro- tected,” Flores-Oebanda said. In remittances alone, the country has much to be thankful for migrant workers. In 2007, OFWs remitted $14.8 million; $16.4 billion, 2008; and $17 billion in 2009.


The dark side Flores-Oebanda said, however, that


human trafficking was modern-day slavery. Most victims end up in forced labor, debt bondage and prostitution. The report said that human traf- ficking was a $32-billion industry that “places over 12 million people in exploitative situations.” More than 161 countries are affected by human trafficking by either being a source, transit or destination country. Every year, more than 800,000 people are trafficked across interna- tional borders. Some 50 percent are believed to be children and 80 per- cent women and girls. Women were also always trafficked to countries like Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and other neighboring Southeast Asian nations where they are made into sex workers.


Going rate for Filipinas Susan “Toots” Ople, head of the Blas


F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute, said that some Filipino women sell for P26,000 if they were “virgins.” Others are compelled to take pay as low as P5,000 to be a do- mestic helper in other countries. Flores-Oebanda said: “Domestic helpers are the most vulnerable group of workers.” Ople, who is also the daughter of the


10 to 15 more illegally recruited Filipinos—were being physically battered by the agent. “Ibinalik ako sa employer ko, pero ganoon pa din [I was given back to the employer and things did not change],” she said, referring to not receiving any salary and being physically maltreated.


The victim added that when she realized that she had no one else to turn to, she escaped her em- ployer and sought the protection and assistance of the Philippine embassy in Malaysia that worked to send her back home. “Hinihingi ko na tutukan ng gobyerno nating yung mga ganitong kaso. Napakahirap, at marami pa pwedeng mabiktima. Bigyan din sana kami ng tulong pangkabuhayan para makapagsimula muli [I am asking the government to look into cases like mine. What I have experienced is grueling and many more Filipinos can be victimized. We also need live- lihood assistance so we can start all over again],” she added.


late Sen. Blas Ople, added that another form of human and sex trafficking were migrant workers who end up working for websites peddling pornography. In fact, she said that one such site has thousands of Filipino women working as entertainers. Ople added that most Filipinos victims of human trafficking also end up as “bar girls.” According to the US report, “Child sex tourism remained a serious prob- lem in the Philippines, with sex tour- ists coming from Northeast Asia, Aus- tralia, Europe and North America to engage in the commercial sexual ex- ploitation of children.” Ople said, “[If we don’t act now], human slavery will have a Filipino face. Please be champions in the fight against human trafficking, not just in words but in well-defined sustainable and concrete actions.”


She appealed to legislators who at- tended the event including Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Rep. Manny Pacquiao of Saranggani province. Elzadia Washington, acting mission di- rector of the United States Agency for In- ternational Development (USAID), said that the government must focus on allevi- ating poverty and generating jobs so that Filipinos would no longer feel the need to leave their homes and work abroad. “No one, anywhere in the world in- cluding in the US, should be treated as slaves,” she said, adding that the US government, who was “very much con- cerned,” was ready to provide resources and assistance to the Philippines’ fight against human trafficking and slavery. Among the recommendations of the


2010 Trafficking in Persons Report are to demonstrate greater progress on effi- ciently investigating, prosecuting and convicting both labor and sex traffick- ers; increase efforts to investigate and prosecute government officials complicit in trafficking; dedicate more resources and personnel to process trafficking cases; devote increase resources like shel- ters to victims of human trafficking; in- crease efforts to create linkages between governments of destination countries; ensure that agreement with foreign coun- tries hosting OFWs are in place; assess methods to measure and address domes- tic-labor trafficking; and continue to dis- seminate information on the Anti-Traf- ficking in Persons Act of 2003.


cargo of frozen meat products through Manila. Lewis added said that corruption caused the Philippines to turn from Asia’s rice granary to a rice importer. “The [rice] cartel is earning money from im- portation,” she said.


Lewis said she campaigned for Mr. Aquino and his running mate Manuel Roxas 2nd because of their platform anchored on a war against corruption. “Aquino was off to a good start with the for- mation a good team that shares his vision for the country,” she added.


Lewis asked the public to give the new President and his Cabinet some more time to prove their worth in fighting corruption before criticizing them. “Just give time to these people. They are only on their third week yet there are already criticisms against them,” she added.


Militants ask SC to disqualify Mikey ■ MIKEY FROM A1


nominees of AGP party-list, cancel the reg- istration of the same as a party-list group, and permanently enjoin Juan Miguel Arroyo from sitting as member of the House of Representatives.” The eldest son of the Mrs. Arroyo, who


goes by the nickname Mikey, is the first nominee of party-list Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP), which claims to represent security guards and tricycle drivers.


Bello argued that Mikey failed to show evidence, pursuant to Comelec Resolu- tion 8807, stipulating that his party-list must be part of or linked to the sector it is supposed to represent.


Bello said he did not submit pertinent documents to establish that he truly belongs to the marginalized sector. Section 6 of Comelec Resolution 8807


states: “The party-list group and the nomi- nees must submit documentary evidence in consonance with the Constitution, RA [Re- public Act] 7941 and other laws to duly prove that the nominees truly belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sector/ s, the sectoral party, organization, political party or coalition they seek to represent . . . ” Evidence may include the “track record of the party-list group/organiza- tion showing active participation of the nominee/s in the undertakings of the party-list group/organization for the ad- vancement of the marginalized and underrepresented sector/s, the sectoral party, organization, political party or coalition they seek to represent.” Other evidences can be “proofs that the nominee/s truly adheres to the advocacies of


the party-list group/organizations” and “cer- tification that the nominee/s is/are a bona fide member of the party-list group/ organization for at 90 days prior to the election.” The resolution also indicates that “in case of a party-list group/organization seeking representation of the marginalized and underrepresented sector/s, proof that the nominee/s is not only an advocate of the party-list/organization but is/are also a bona fide member/s of said marginalized and underrepresented sector.”


Qualified to serve On Tuesday, however, the Comelec ruled


that Mikey was qualified to be the first nominee of the AGP party-list, saying that the party-list nominee “need not be mem- bers of the marginalized” and that “it’s enough that he belongs to the party.” Bello said, however: “We are filing this petition to rectify the injustice by Arroyo who did not comply with the Comelec rules.” Akbayan said this case would be con- sidered as a “test case.”


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