A plea against human trafficking

The Philippines' inclusion on the watch list means that it is not fully complying with minimum standards set by U.S. law for cooperating in efforts to reduce the rise of human trafficking which is a common denominator in the sex trade, coerced labor and recruitment of child soldiers.

In a separate report, HumanTrafficking.org posted at its website that the Philippines is a source, transit, and destination for victims of human trafficking.

It claims that there are about 20,000-10,000 Filipino and foreign child victims in the Philippines and that foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, sexually exploit women and children in the country. This is disheartening.

While many of them voluntarily migrate to work abroad, some of them only later end up coerced into exploitative conditions.

This reminds me of the harrowing experience of eight sexually abused Filipina overseas workers that the Jesus Is Lord Movement was able to rescue from a sex den in Malaysia in 2007. Instead of the promised decent and good paying job, these poor women ended in a flesh trade that stripped them of their dignity.

Unfortunately, their number is not even included in the 300,000 to 400,000 Filipino women and 60,000 to 100,000 Filipino children trafficked in 2006 according to the U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report for that year.

The ill-effect of human trafficking cannot be overemphasized. It does not only wreck havoc in the individual lives of the victims; it also victimizes their families. Ultimately, it gives birth to various social problems that threaten a nation's stability.

Hence in her official statement regarding the matter, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton underscored the broad negative global impact of human trafficking. She went on to say that human trafficking weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence threatens public health and safety, shatters families, and shreds social fabric that is necessary for progress.

Indeed, it is high time that the worsening state of human trafficking in the Philippines be addressed seriously.

People who are engaged in this crime must be prosecuted, punished, and penalized. Government agencies need to double their anti-human trafficking efforts while due support is given to non-government organizations in carrying out their complementary anti-human trafficking initiatives.

The government should make it a priority to elevate the quality of life of the Filipinos by giving them job options and opportunities within the Philippines so that they will no longer be lured to go abroad where they become vulnerable to all possible abuses.

In the same breadth, the government must see the protection and promotion of the welfare of about 11 million Filipino migrant workers worldwide. If we would only be all in this together, we may finally put a stop on human trafficking.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, The China Post.

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