Senator Risa Hontiveros has sought a Senate inquiry on the trafficking of Filipinas in the Middle East, noting the problem could also have been due to corruption in the Bureau of Immigration.
“Dozens of Filipinas who were recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates have been trafficked to Syria to work as maids, at times subjected to physical and sexual attacks by their employers and denied the salaries they were promised, according to interviews conducted with 17 of these women over Facebook Messenger,” the report said.
“Alin ang mga sindikatong sangkot sa kalakalaran ng human trafficking? Nung iniimbestigahan natin ang ‘pastillas scam’ sa Bureau of Immigration, napagalaman natin na maliban sa pagpapasok ng Chinese nationals na walang inspeksyon, raket din sa BI ang outbound trafficking ng mga Pilipino. May mga institusyon din ba sa Pilipinas na pasimuno o nagproprotekta sa raket na ito?” Hontiveros said in a statement after filing Senate Resolution 631.
Hontiveros wants probe on trafficking of Filipinas to Middle East
The Philippine government through the Department of Foreign Affairs already committed to repatriating the Filipinas from Syria. However, insisted that an investigation is necessary to better understand the “supply chain” of abuse.
“These women were physically abused and threatened the moment they expressed objection to being taken to Syria. Isa lang ito sa mga kwento ng napakaraming Pilipina na matagal nang nagiging biktima ng trafficking sa ibang bansa. Ngunit sa gitna ng pandemya, mas lalala ang sitwasyon nila,” she said.
“We need to better understand the human trafficking ‘supply chain’ in order to craft more effective legislation to prosecute offenders and protect our women and children.”
Hontiveros said the Senate inquiry would also cover the dimensions of the human trafficking situation in the Philippines.
“Ang sakit sa puso na sa gitna ng isang matinding krisis sa buong mundo, ang mga kababayan natin ay patuloy na inaabuso. The issue of human trafficking of our women is not new, and putting an end to this practice is long overdue,” Hontiveros said.