Putting an End to Human Trafficking

09Dec10

(Acceptance speech of Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento for the award given by the International Justice Mission)

It is with much pride and honor to receive this distinction from the International Justice Mission. I have calendared this event to personally receive the award and deliver this message but the Speaker of the House of Representatives assigned me to represent the country in an equally important conference in Cambodia.

I congratulate the International Justice Mission for the two years of sustained effort of working with the people and leaders of Samar to curb human trafficking. I would also like to welcome and thank the United States of America represented here today by Ambassador Harris Thomas, whom I first met during the Commemoration of the Veteran’s Day.

Indeed Samar has a long-standing relationship with the United States. I have always mentioned this to former Ambassador Kristie Kenney when he visited Samar when I was still the mayor of Calbayog City. The Main Health Center of Calbayog City is testament to this partnership. The wastewater treatment installed in Greenland Subdivision through the LINAW program is likewise funded by the USAID. The wastewater projects which benefits almost 30,000 persons will always be known to be an eco-friendly and cost-efficient innovation. With all of these, Samarnons will forever be grateful to the United States.

It thus comes with little surprise that the United States is again helping us in our battle against human trafficking. The problem has become so rampant and global that it has become imperative to build alliances to combat it.

Every day, 3,000 Filipinos leave the country to work abroad. With a few clothes stuffed in a bag, a little amount of money, their passport, and their dreams of a brighter future for their family, our countrymen tread an unchartered terrain. The OFWs offer their strengths and skills to foreign lands no matter how difficult the job is or how homesick they become. This kind of sacrifice merits them the term, mga Bagong Bayani.

Some will be lucky to chase their dreams in a greener pasture. They would come back in the country able to buy things they could only dream of if they stayed. But others would not be so fortunate.

We’ve heard of OFW’s being abused and maltreated by their employers abroad. The abuse would range from holding of their compensation, to forcing them work in the most inhumane condition, to physically abusing them. More saddening stories are those when one Bagong Bayani is returned to our country in a box, lifeless.

A story that shocked our nation is that of an OFW from Maguindanao who worked as a domestic helper in Kuwait. Asria Samad Abdul is reported to be physically abused by her employers every single day. When her employers noticed that she was on the brink of dying, she was brought near the stable where horses are kept. They let her body be crushed apparently in an attempt to conceal the real cause of her death.

In a country where most have family members who are OFWs, I am sure you heard similar stories. Maybe more frightening. There are OFWs in every baranggay, town, city, and province. Our offices in the House of Representatives have never run out of family members asking for assistance for their loved ones abroad. The sad thing is that while our heroes suffer abroad, their recruiters here in the country remain scot-free, probably talking to a next batch of prospects.

Illegal recruiters and human traffickers continue to live among us. They offer the utopia or the American dream to those wanting to improve their lives and that of their family. They capitalize on sugar-coated promises when in fact they deliver our countrymen to a world of inhumane labor or even prostitution. They offer false employment and certainly false hopes. They have the audacity to deal and cajole because some have earned connections in the immigration. This is why even the victim who appears not to have the means to leave the country as a tourist, the victim is easily brought to other countries.

Our situation is alarming that even the United States took note of it. On the recent Trafficking Persons Report, the Philippines belongs in the Tier 2 Watch List. This means we are so close to Myanmar and Somalia, both in Tier 3, which can be best described to be merchandising their people like cattle.

Unless we do something to put an end to human trafficking, we will be forever trapped in the vicious cycle of receiving sad stories and worsening unemployment statistics. The government spends a lot of resources to rescue abused OFWs abroad. Resources that could have been better used to fund livelihood programs and elevate the standard of skills training here in the country to generate jobs.

We should take note that not only women are trafficked. Victims include men, elderly, and children forced to do work appropriate for adults. They are continuously sold in and out of the country. We should wage our war against this evil.

We in the House of Representatives have reexamined the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2003. There is definitely a need to strengthen it. Section 7 of the Act gives equal right of privacy to both the victim and the trafficker. This is unfair. How can we caution our people if the identity of the human traffickers are protected by law? Also, it is imperative to make criminal even the attempted act of trafficking. Recruiters whose victims were barred from flying out of the country due to suspicious travel documents cannot be criminally liable.

Also, the Department of Foreign Affairs must play a tougher role for the good of our OFWs. The common scenario is that an abused OFW is immediately sent home. The abusive employer, however, is not pressed with charges for the act. The DFA must be aggressive in going after the syndicates, agents, and employers. The DSWD should likewise strengthen its campaign against child trafficking.

The conviction rate on cases of human trafficking has remained low. Since the enactment of the Anti-Trafficking Act in 2003, only 18 were convicted with over 800 still being tried. If the congress welcomes the idea of putting up Drug Courts for cases involving illegal drugs, I believe it is high time to create special courts for human trafficking.

In this 15^th Congress, there are bills filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines to increase the salary of household helpers. This move, if finally enacted, will encourage our helpers to stay in the country instead of hoping for higher compensation abroad.

Finally, much is asked from local officials and organizations like the International Justice Mission. Vigilance at the grassroots level is the primary key of curbing trafficking.

The fight against human trafficking is a step in making sure that our Bagong Bayani remains heroes and not martyrs every time they leave the country.

Thank you.

 

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