Binay assails human trafficking by some Cebu families

Financial difficulties have led some families to traffic their own members in an effort to make ends meet, such as the case of a number of families in Ibabao, Cebu, who forced their children to perform sexual acts on the Internet for pedophiles all over the world. ““That, my dear friends, is the biggest tragedy of the human trafficking problem when the very primary defense against the malaise actually abets it,” said Vice President Jejomar C. Binay during the Workshop on Human Trafficking organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.” In line with this, Binay said the fight against human trafficking thus begins with strengthening the Filipino family, which he dubbed as the “frontline defense mechanism against human trafficking.” The Vice-President then urged the CBCP to discuss how to strengthen the family, and laid out possible solutions to the inter-connected issues of poverty and human trafficking in the country. Binay is the chairman emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

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http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/regions/28203-binay-assails-human-trafficking-by-some-cebu-families

Arrested Syrian reveals human trafficking scheme in Malate

A Syrian disguised as a Canadian had admitted involvement in a suspected human trafficking syndicate in Malate, Manila. The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that Yaroub Zamzam, 40, from Latakia, Syria was arrested on February 16 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2. Angelica Pedro, spokesperson for BI, said in a statement that Zamzam returned to Manila in September 2013 since his first arrival in 2003 to visit his girlfriend. He admits that he had help in acquiring a French passport through a certain Muhammad Jaaber, who heads a human trafficking ring based in Malate. Pedro revealed that Jaaber is allegedly involved in coordinating the departure of Filipina domestic helpers for Lebanon via Malaysia as tourists. Zamzam was asked to offload from the plane at NAIA after he boarded a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Vancouver, Canada. His travel documents were turned over to the intelligence unit of the NAIA terminal for further investigation.

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http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/02/20/1292600/arrested-syrian-reveals-human-trafficking-scheme-malate

Filipino Trafficking victims reunite with families in the U.S.

Like many Filipinos, Josie Gutierrez and Cecile Venzon left their loved ones in the Philippines in the pursuit of their American Dream. That dream soon turned into a nightmare, and the two ladies found themselves victims of human and labor trafficking. They are not alone, as countless immigrants fall prey to this modern-day slavery. But thanks to the T-visa, an immigration relief that allows for certain victims of trafficking and their immediately family members to remain in the U.S., Gutierrez and Venzon have been reunited with their loved ones. "Pinakamasayang nanay sa buong mundo! Nakita ko na mga anak ko! Hindi na Facebook, personal na. (I am the happiest mother in the world! I have finally seen my children! It’s no longer on Facebook, but in person.)" Gutierrez said.
Yet the journey to reach this happy moment was a tough one. Cecile Venzon had worked 17-hour days for a diplomat in Englewood, New Jersey who paid her less than the $1,600 she was promised every month. She was not compensated for overtime hours and was not given any days off until she was able to escape. Josie Gutierrez underwent a similar ordeal with an employer who paid her only $400/month. These women were stripped of their freedom and constantly threatened with deportation, with their employers adding that they had no right to demand higher wages because they did not pay taxes and did not have Social Security. "She (Gutierrez) was in a trafficking situation for a long time,” Terri Nilliasca, an attorney for Damayan Migrant Workers Association, said. "The reason that happens a lot of times is that people don’t realize the situation they're in. They know it’s terrible, but they don’t know where to go, how to get help, and sometimes they feel that they owe some kind of debt to their employer and so they don’t want to leave, they can’t leave." Damayan Migrant Workers Associated helped the women to escape, and turn their lives around for the better. The group encourages anyone else who finds themselves a victim of labor and human trafficking to come forward and get help.

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http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/02/12/14/filipino-trafficking-victims-reunite-families-us

ABA resolution urges businesses to adopt policies against child labor and labor trafficking

The ABA House of Delegates has adopted a resolution that urges businesses to adopt policies against child and labor trafficking that are consistent with four models. The principles outlined in the resolution – known as Resolution 102B – says the business will prohibit child and labor trafficking in its operations, assess the risk of these problems, train relevant employees and communicate with suppliers, and devise a remediation policy to address child labor and trafficking. According to Delegate E. Christopher Johnson Jr. of Michigan, the principles “will try to give business the tools they need to erase this scourge on humanity. We have tolerated it far too long.”

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http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/aba_resolution_urges_businesses_to_adopt_policies_against_child_labor_and_l/?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=topstories_rss

We’re going after sex offenders, says Palace

The Interagency Commission against Trafficking - which is composed of a number of government and law enforcement agencies – has been given the task of ridding the country of a pedophile ring which has victimized minors, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said on January 16. He emphasizes that the national government is determined to stop human trafficking in all its forms and manifestations through joined efforts by all the concerned government agencies and other countries. In a press briefing, Coloma said “Let me point out that even before the publication of [the pedophile ring report], the government has already committed itself to doing everything that needs to be done through interagency effort, through legislation and through other administrative measures to stop this trafficking.” He further stresses that human trafficking is a “matter of high priority” for the government, and has not been prompted by recent media reports. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be supporting the efforts of the United States, Australia and Britain against the pedophile rings. In 2013, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested 27 year-old Aldren Aumento, after UK authorities had passed on intelligence on money he received from an arrested pedophile. “Aumento, a computer science graduate, told the Inquirer that he had been operating a child pornography website since 2009. He said he used children aged between 3 and 12 years old and paid them Php300 to Php350 (between $5-$8) per show. His (sic) overseas clients paid him $250.”

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http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/565051/were-going-after-sex-offenders-says-palace

Investigation busts online sex abuse ring targeting children in Philippines

Investigators have caught an international pedophile ring that broadcasted Filipino children being sexually abused for money, authorities have claimed. The operation began in 2012 and has since resulted in the arrest of 29 people, 11 of them Filipino nationals who facilitated the abuse, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) released in a stated on January 15. According to NCA, some of the children’s own family members organized the abuse. The British agency also announced that fifteen children between the ages of 6 and 15 have been rescued. After uncovering “indecent videos” on the computer of a registered sex offender, British police had begun their investigation. This led to the information on the abuse of the children in the Philippines and on people in other countries involved in the pedophile ring. Seventeen arrests have been made in the UK, resulting in five convictions. “Being thousands of miles away makes no difference to their guilt. In my mind, they are just as responsible for the abuse of these children as the contact abusers overseas” said Andy Baker, deputy director of the NCA’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection command. Children’s rights advocates say that the private nature of technology has allowed for crimes to take place in a venue that is not yet as accessible to law enforcement, and thus making it difficult to track down cyber-crimes. In the Philippines, conditions such as widespread poverty, a booming sex-trade, literacy in English and technology and widespread internet access have contributed to the country falling prey to such abuse.

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http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/16/world/europe/britain-philippines-child-sex-abuse/

Human Trafficking Predicted to Pick Up 6 Months After Typhoon Haiyan

“The risk of human trafficking is at its height directly after disaster, but the six to 18 months after a disaster is when lots of trafficking occurs, as the media spotlight is no longer on these situations,” says Jill Marie Gershutz-Bell, senior legislative specialist at Catholic Relief Services.

The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines late last year disrupted the familiarity of academic routine and uprooted families.  The quicker children can be put back in school and family livelihood can be restored, then vulnerability to human trafficking can be lessened.

Many realistic scenarios can contribute to the post disaster trafficking problem.  For instance, a family may make an impulsive decision such as selling a child or illegally crossing international borders when the financial and emotional stress following a disaster remains, despite the passage of time.  Additionally, scattered children can be wrongfully assumed to be orphans once immediate family tracing services fail to reunite children with such loved ones.  It does not help that a large amount of human displacement is a common occurrence following natural disasters.

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https://www.devex.com/en/news/human-trafficking-to-pick-up-6-months-after-haiyan/82608