The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality is keen on inviting members of the Philippines’ Aviation Security Command (AVSECOM) to shed light on the human trafficking of Filipinos into Myanmar.
The matter of inviting members of the AVSECOM to the Senate’s probe into the alleged outbound human trafficking activities in Thailand and Myanmar was raised by Sen. Raffy Tulfo and was seconded by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate panel.
This was after the panel heard the testimony of “Paulo,” one of the human trafficking victims, who testified before the committee on how he was given a fake ID pass by alleged airport officials at NAIA Terminal 3 so he can board his flight to Thailand where he was supposedly promised work in a telemarketing company.
Fortunately, Paulo said he was able to “escape” from the ordeal which could have led him to work for a crypto-scamming job in Myanmar.
Tulfo raised alarm over the incident, pointing out that the incident also shows a “clear and present danger” to the country.
“Meron talagang clear and present danger dito na madaling mapasok ng terorista kung ganon (itong ating mga airports). Kasi pwede nila gamiting itong mga fake na passes, wala nang kapkap, wala nang scrutiny. Dala-dala ang bag na may bomba, and yun, patay na tayo, (There is really a clear and present danger here, because it means a terrorist can easily penetrate our airports. Because they can use fake passes, no frisking, no scrutiny. They can bring bombs inside and explode and that would be the death of us),” Tulfo pointed out during the hearing.
“So meron talaga tayong lapse in security dito. Kailangan talaga palalimin natin ang imbestigasyon dito (So we really have a lapse in security here. We really need to get into the bottom of this in this investigation),” the senator added.
“Kailangan natin ipatawag ang AVSECOM, kelangan may masibak sa AVSECOM (we need to call for the AVSECOM, heads should roll in the AVSECOM),” he reiterated.
“Sila ang nakakaalam ng proseso, hindi ka pwede pumasok kung hindi ka dumaan sa proseso. May sumalo sa kanila (victims) at may sumundo sa kanila na myembro ng sindikato na kasabwat—I’m sure may kasabwat dito sa AVSECOM, na nag i-screen ng mga IDs. Kaya dapat ipatawag ang AVSECOM at dapat may managot dito (They know the process, you can't enter if you haven't gone through the process. Somebody assisted the victims and someone picked them up who is clearly a member of the syndicate, who is evidently an accomplice—I'm sure there was an accomplice here at AVSECOM, who screened the IDs. So AVSECOM should be summoned and someone should be held accountable,” Tulfo also said.
Hontiveros agreed and directed the panel to send an invitation to the AVSECOM to appear in the next hearing.
In his testimony, Paulo explained that his recruiter, a certain Laisa Magallanes told him that an “escort” would help him with immigration to expedite his departure from the Philippines and was told that P30,000 would be deducted from his salary for this service.
But after checking in, Paulo said the so-called “escort” told him to get out of the line at the immigration counter and asked him for his passport. When it was returned to him, he was later surprised to see that his passport already has a stamp of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“Even without going through the immigration counter, Paulo's passport was stamped with the official BI exit stamp. Someone handled him at the airport, bypassed immigration, and gave him a fake ID from WHSmith, a store in NAIA Terminal 3, to pretend to be an employee. Paulo was suddenly afraid of the process he was being made to go through, so he told the recruiter that he would not continue,” Hontiveros explained.
“It's like pastillas part 2, but worse and more intense. Are airport security or personnel also involved? Are the illegal recruiters in the pockets and complicity of BI or airport officials? The pain that many Filipinos in other countries are suffering because of our fellow Filipinos who take advantage for their own interests,” the senator added.
Last week, Hontiveros gave a privilege speech about alias Rita, and 11 other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who were promised jobs in Thailand, but were trafficked into Myanmar to become crypto scammers of a Chinese syndicate based in Shwe Kokko, a town in the Kayin State of Myanmar.
In the hearing, the deputy minority leader called attention to the OFWs who are still in Myanmar, many of whom are physically abused by their Chinese employers.
During the hearing she introduced alias “Baby,” a trafficked Filipino who almost died in the hands of her Chinese employer in Shwe Kokko.
“Hindi katanggap-tanggap ang sinapit ni Baby. Kuryente, baton, latigo ang sinapit niya at ng kanyang mga kasama. Marami pa sila ang nasa Myanmar pa at kailangang-kailangan ang agarang aksyon ng ating gobyerno (What happened to Baby is unacceptable. She and his companions were subjected to electricity, batons, and whips. Many of them are still in Myanmar and the immediate action of our government is essential),” Hontiveros said.
“Unfortunately, many Filipinos go through this illegal process, no matter how dubious, because of desperation,” she lamented.
Faced with employment challenges in the Philippines, the constant increase in prices while there is no progress in workers' salaries, Hontiveros said Filipinos cannot be blamed if they choose to accept dubious job opportunities just to give something to their families.
“This is also a challenge for us in government not only to clean up our immigration system, but also to urgently provide adequate and dignified jobs and livelihood for every Filipino,” Hontiveros stressed.