ISABELA
CITY, Basilan, Jan 14 (PIA) - - Authorities in Basilan are bent on
addressing human trafficking incidence in the island as the Sea-Based Anti-Trafficking Task Force
(SBATTF) rescued Basileños-victims of
human trafficking in its recent operations.
In a meeting last January 3, the Basilan
Peace and Development Coordinating Committee also known as Team Basilan
resolved to intensify its information campaign against human trafficking in the
province.
The resolution was in response to Vice
President and Chairman Emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking
(IACAT) who wrote Governor Jum Akbar, seeking assistance to enlighten Basileños
and make them aware on the modus-operandi
of human trafficking syndicates.
The vice president said that he was disturbed
to know that most of the victims rescued in Tawi-Tawi last year came from the
province of Basilan. In the list provided, some 36 Basileños fell victims to
human trafficking, where 19 were reported to come from Lamitan, 7 from
Bohelibong, 2 from Buyawas, 4 from Maluso, and 1 each from Tipo-Tipo, Isabela,
and Tuburan.
The letter indicated that the youngest victim
is a 9-month old baby, including 4 children below 10 years old.
“I am deeply concerned about these parallel
incidents because it shows the wide latitude of operations these syndicates
have on human trafficking and exploitation in the provinces and international
levels,” the IACAT chairman said.
Binay stressed that these syndicates target
persons living from low-income families in the provinces and the would-be
victims are then promised decent and high paying jobs.
Basilan police provincial director PSSupt
Mario M. Dapilloza said that he has not heard of any report of transactions in
human trafficking in Basilan. He suspects that illegal recruitment is done in
nearby Zamboanga City and would also board sea vessels plying from the said
city.
Provincial Administrator and presiding officer
of Team Basilan Tahira Ismael said that it difficult to track down illegal
recruitments in the province as cases are mostly a “family affair”, explaining
that most victims are family related. “Pamilya-pamilya ang umaalis,” she said.
Akbar municipality mayor Alih A. Sali and
chapter president of the League of Municipal Mayors of the Phillippines affirms
the observation of Ismael, saying that families and relatives fall victims to
human trafficking because a family member who came home from working abroad
would lure them to work abroad, too, without knowledge of the need to secure
legal documents.
Team Basilan, which is a consortium of key
government agencies, non-government organizations, the military and police, and
other sectors, also resolved to revive and direct the local anti-human
trafficking council to implement information drive on the risks and dangers of
human trafficking.