ZAMBOANGA CITY – United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas is pleased
with the over-all efforts of the Philippine government in its continuous fight
against human trafficking.
In his
visit to the city on Wednesday Ambassador Thomas said “while there are still a
lot to be done, the time and effort being devoted by our government officials
in combating human trafficking is very encouraging.”
“Many
challenges continue, especially in Zamboanga as people go out backdoor. But
what I am very pleased about is that Secretary De Lima has devoted a lot of her
time, with President Aquino’s encouragement, to stopping this modern day form
of slavery,” Thomas emphasized.
As a
testament to this, Thomas said, the U.S. government acknowledges the Philippine
government’s work against illegal human trade.
“Darlene
Pajarito, a prosecutor here, was honored by Secretary Clinton for her work as
being one of the leading prosecutors against this,” he said.
Thomas
urged the public to help curb this illegal activity.
“I ask
all of you to work with us, especially the person that I honor, Sec. De Lima,
to stop this. I think this is something we all need to work together on. I have
a daughter. I know you all have children, nieces, and nephews, and they deserve
the same opportunity that you have to pursue their craft and not be forced into
labor or sexual trafficking,” he exhorted.
The
ambassador also disclosed that even boys are now being trafficked for sex
trade.
“We
have now seen that there are boys. Something that we should not have ignored
and should not have been a surprise to us. Boys are also trafficked for sexual
reasons and we must combat that,” he pointed out.
Thomas
came to the city to inaugurate a P13 million training facility inside the
Philippine Public Safety College, in Barangay Pasonanca, emphasizing the strong
partnership between the U.S. and Philippine governments.
“Very
proud that the U.S. government continues to partner with Philippine security
and safety organizations in training, especially in human rights, human
trafficking, law enforcement, and community policing. This is a very, very
proud day. We hope that we’re able to work with the government of the
Philippines on more of these in the future,” the soft-spoken ambassador said.
(PIA9)
