LOREN HITS TRAFFICKING OF FILIPINO WOMEN,
FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION

Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday (Dec. 10) denounced the illegal trafficking of nine Filipino women who were forced into prostitution in Malaysia and urged the strict enforcement of the anti-trafficking in persons law.

The senator said that the full force of the law should be applied against the recruiter of the nine Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). A similar punishment should be imposed on their employer who apparently is a Filipina married to a foreigner

Loren also urged strict enforcement of Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the adoption of an appropriate national program to provide for effective services for trafficked victims and their families, including rehabilitation and psychiatric treatment.

She came to know of the sad plight of the Filipina OFWs when she traveled last week to Kuala Lumpur to accept the conferment on her of the title Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for the Asia Pacific.

The challenging role was entrusted to Loren by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) during the conference on disaster reduction organized by the UN.

Her attention was called to the predicament of the nine bedraggled Filipinas when she visited the Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur upon invitation of Philippine Ambassador Victoriano M. Lecaros. The victims had sought refuge in the Philippine embassy after escaping from their recruiter.

Loren learned that the Filipinas with ages ranging from 18 to 29 arrived in Malaysia last November upon the recruitment by a certain Marilyn Gonzales Jabonero and her Malaysian spouse, a certain Ng Kok Weng. The couple allegedly promised each of the Filipinas, who came from Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Cavite, General Santos City and Davao, jobs as waitresses in a restaurant at wages of P20,000 a week.

"However, to their utter shock, the recruiter took possession of their cell phones and passports which turned out to be counterfeit and locked them inside a room," Loren told the Senate.

"But the worst of their nightmare was not yet over. They were forced into prostitution by the couple and were physically abused whenever they refused to consent to the sexual abuse of patrons. To dissuade them from seeking help from authorities, they were constantly threatened with bodily harm and with being turned over to the police or immigration for violating Malaysian immigration and employment laws.

"During their captivity by the spouses Jabonera and her husband Mr. Ng, they were given only one meal a day. They did not receive a single cent for all their sufferings because the spouses Jabonero and Ng took all the money which were paid by customers. They tried escaping several times, and each time they were thwarted by an unidentified person working for the couple," Loren disclosed.

On December 3, the unfortunate Filipinas managed to escape and take refuge at the Philippine Embassy, arriving there with nothing save for the clothes they were wearing.

Loren commended the Philippine embassy for facilitating the travel papers of the nine victims for their immediate return to the Philippines. She helped the beleaguered women by paying for their airplane fare, otherwise they would stay longer in Malaysia where they could face charges of possessing counterfeit passports and overstaying through no fault of their own. They are arriving tomorrow (Dec. 10) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Loren urged the filing of criminal charges against Marilyn Gonzales Jabonero for violating R.A. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

Illegal trafficking involves transporting people away from the communities in which they live, by threat or use of violence, deception, or coercion so they can be exploited as forced as enslaved workers for sex or labor, Loren explained. The penalty for violation is imprisonment of from six years to life, and payment of fine from P500,000 to P5 million. Ng, however, being a Malaysian citizen can only be prosecuted by the Malaysian government.

The Filipina OFWs said they were recruited by Jabonero who promised them that she would secure their passports without payment of fees. However, Jabonero still charged the women for the passports which later turned out to be counterfeit.

Aside from proposing a national program to provide rehabilitation services to victims of trafficking in persons, Loren also urged the strengthening of law enforcement by offering incentives to informers in trafficking cases. She also proposed the inclusion in the school curriculum on instructions against human trafficking, and strengthening of cooperation between government and civil society to combat the menace.

Loren said that ofthe more than 8 million overseas Filipino workers, 1.62 million are irregular migrants and are suspected to be victims of trafficking or smuggling. Sixty-five percent of those victims are women, 25% of whom are forced into prostitution.