A Chance for a New Life

Increase of Filipinas Trafficked to Singapore

From the Inquirer:

By Maila Ager
August 25, 2008

MANILA, Philippines -- A congressional inquiry into the worsening cases of Filipino trafficking in Singapore has been sought by a lawmaker at the House of Representatives. ARC Partylist Representative Narciso Santiago III said Congress should look into reports that Filipino trafficking in Singapore has reached an all-time high last year because of budget air fares, which aggravated the situation.

From 125 cases of human trafficking in 2006, the number went up by 70 percent or 212 cases in 2007, Santiago said, citing an alleged report by Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule Anota.

He said the Philippine embassy in Singapore blamed this to the network of illegal recruiters and "quite possibly, syndicates across borders, which manage to persuade their recruits through various modes of deception and intimidation."

"Filipino victims are pushed to try their luck in Singapore not only because of poverty but also because of the promise of a lucrative job overseas," he said.

"The report states that the existence of a large number of bars/pubs in Singapore's red light districts fuels the demand for Filipino women," he pointed out. Based on records, Santiago said, the modus operandi essentially has illegal recruiters promising young women non-existent jobs as waitresses or guest relations officers in restaurants and hotels in Singapore.

"They are each charged a minimum of $100 as recruitment fee in the Philippines and given roundtrip tickets where the return ticket is oftentimes fake, a fake invitation letter, and "show money" for presentation to Philippine immigration officials who scrutinize their financial capacity as tourists," he said.

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Philippines: 2 Foreigners Arrested at Airport on Trafficking Charges

From ABS-CBN:

Two foreigners have been arrested by immigration authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for alleged human trafficking, the Bureau of Immigration said Saturday.

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said Singaporean R. Murliy and Sri Lankan Vignesvaran Saravanan have been accosted at the NAIA 2 centennial terminal on June 27 as they were about to board a Philippine Airlines flight to Vancouver.

Immigration officials said Saravanan was carrying a tampered Singaporean passport and a fake Singaporean identity card.

During interrogation, Saravanan has claimed that Murliy is a friend of his aunt who lives in Canada, Libanan said.

The Sri Lankan also admitted to authorities that Murliy was the one who financed his aborted trip. Murliy is believed to a member of a human trafficking syndicate that uses the Philippines as a transit point for smuggling illegal aliens to Canada.

Murliy and Saravanan are detained at the Bicutan immigration jail while awaiting deportation.

US Sees Progress in Curbing Trafficking of Filipinos

By Cynthia Balana

From the Inquirer:

The US State Department has acknowledged the overall progress being made by the Philippines in curbing human trafficking, the Philippine embassy in Singapore said on Wednesday.

Philippine Ambassador Belen Fule-Anota said that Ambassador Steven E. Steiner of the US Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons made this statement when he met with officials of the Philippine Presidential Task Force on Human Trafficking who came to investigate the alarming increase in the trafficking of Filipinos in the city-state.

In that meeting, Anota proposed to improve inter-agency cooperation, particularly in the areas of rehabilitation, re-integration and witness protection for the victims, and the prosecution of traffickers.

Steiner, who visited the embassy on the sidelines of a meeting in Singapore, took note of the ongoing bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and the US. Embassy officials exchanged notes with him and discussed possible areas for strengthening bilateral cooperation.

In a report submitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) early this year, the embassy cited an alarming increase in human trafficking cases from 125 in 2006 to 212 in 2007, a surge of 70 percent. There were only 59 recorded cases in 2005.

Of the 212 human trafficking victims in 2007, 57 or 27 percent admitted to either having engaged in prostitution or were coerced by their Filipino and Singaporean handlers to prostitute themselves. Of the 57 victims, 39 were pub workers, 15 worked in the escort service, while three were pick-up girls.

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17 Suspected Human Traffickers Nabbed in Manila

By Thea Alberto

From the Inquirer:

MANILA, Philippines -- Police have arrested 17 suspected human traffickers, Director General Avelino Razon announced Thursday.

Luciano Lim, together with 16 employees of Excellent Travel Agency, was arrested by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for sending Filipinos to work in Singapore on tourist passports, Razon said.

One of the complainants, Tita Cantillo, related that the travel agency asked for over P15,000 so she could work in Singapore. But instead of getting a working visa, she was only given a tourist passport, Cantillo added.

Though she really got a job in Singapore, Cantillo said she only received 10 Singapore dollars for her first month of work instead of the promised 350 Singapore dollars. Some were even impregnated by the suspects, police reports said, adding others were homeless during their stay in the city-state.

CIDG Deputy Senior Superintendent Benito Estipona said the travel agency was used by the suspects as cover for their human trafficking operations.

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Trafficking of Filipinas to Singapore on the Rise

By Veronica Uy

From the Inquirer:

The Philippine embassy said the trafficking of Filipinas in Singapore "continues unabated." The embassy’s admission came six month after INQUIRER.net first reported the sharp increase in the incident of the transnational crime in the island-state.

In the report it submitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) dated April 28, the Philippine embassy in Singapore reiterated its warning about the dangers of human trafficking.

The warning came in the wake of meetings between the Philippine embassy, Ambassador Steven Steiner of the United States Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and officials from the Philippine Presidential Task Force on Human Trafficking, who went to Singapore to assess the situation there.

In November 2007, INQUIRER.net posted a special report on the growing number of young Filipino women being lured to Singapore on the false promise of a high-paying job only to end up in prostitution.

The increased incidence of trafficking of Asian women, including Filipinas, to Singapore prompted the United States State Department to downgrade the city-state's rating from Tier 1 in 2006 to Tier 2 this year.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anota said Filipinas who want to work overseas must scrutinize their recruiters in the Philippines well and ensure they have valid contracts before leaving the country.

In a report submitted to the DFA early this year, the embassy in Singapore noted "an alarming increase" of 70 percent in human trafficking cases from 125 in 2006 to 212 in 2007. There were only 59 recorded cases in 2005.

Of the 212 human trafficking victims in 2007, a total of 57, or 27 percent, admitted to either having engaged in prostitution or being coerced by their Filipino and Singaporean handlers to prostitute themselves. Of the 57 victims, 39 were pub workers, 15 worked in escort service, while three were pick-up girls.

The embassy culled data from individual interviews, recorded statements, and affidavits of victims who reported to the embassy in 2007. The number is believed understated.

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Mona Singapore Escort

New Philippine Film Raises Awareness of Sex Trafficking In Singapore



From ABS-CBN:

Filipina actress Iza Calzado's upcoming film seeks to raise awareness about a serious crime that destroys the lives of many people, especially women: human trafficking. In the film "Mona Singapore Escort", Calzado plays the title character, "Mona", a resident in a far-flung province in the Philippines. Mona ends up in a brothel in Singapore after falling victim to a sweet-talking illegal recruiter.

A victim of human trafficking, Mona makes the best out of her situation in order to send money back home to her family. “This [film] is an advocacy to stop illegal recruitment so that our Filipinas don’t suffer their fate abroad. I hope the government takes care of them," the actress told abs-cbnNEWS.com

According to Pete Daza, one of the film's producers, the film is an eye-opener as well as a warning to other Filipinos to be very careful, and protect themselves from human traffickers.

Daza told ABS-CBN that a few theaters in Los Angeles, California have expressed interest in showing "Mona Singapore Escort" knowing that there are a lot of Filipinos there.

Despite Singapore's reputation as a strict, law-abiding society and its hard line stance on crime (the Singapore government has put to death even foreigners found guilty in illegal drugs cases), Morel said human trafficking and sexual slavery are disturbing realities in Singapore.

“This is a true story,” said Morel, “I hope the governments of the Philippines and Singapore would do something about human trafficking of our women in other countries. I know they are but there should be a massive drive about this."

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