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Wednesday, December 15, 2004
City now a destination for child traffickers
By Jenny Molbog-Mendoza
DAVAO City has become one of the major destinations of trafficked children from Visayas, recent reports that have reached the Anti-Child Trafficking Davao-Agusan Area Kalitawhan Network, a non-government organization (NGO), said.
Bernie Mondragon, the group's coordinator, said Tuesday that although they have no evidence yet, they are pretty sure that the City has become an attractive destination for the victims.
"During a training held in Tacloban City early this year, the participants were members of PNP (Philippine National Police) and DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) workers. Naa daw sila'y na-handle nga mga kaso diin naa'y mga bata sila nga na-rescue nga padulong sa Davao City. Wala ko kabalo kung pila ang nakasulod na gyud sa syudad (They said they handled cases of children rescued while about to be shipped to Davao City. I don't know how many children were successfully brought in though)," he said.
Mondragon said the booming entertainment industry of the city could be one of the major factors that could have brought about the scenario.
"The city's progress entices this operations. The way the city is growing, it is now very attractive for trafficking and prostitution. It is conducive for such operations in the entertainment industry," he said in the vernacular.
Mondragon said that with the prevailing laws in Davao City that provides measures on how to avoid the trafficking of children, it's ironic that these laws are not yet felt.
"Kulang sa implementation. Dili pa nato mabati kung naa gyud ba ni nga mga laws. Unta muhimo ang syudad og aksyon aron maimbestigahan ning maong isyu labin na 'tong report nga ng syudad destinasyon na pud (Implementation is weak. We can't really feel these laws. I hope the city will act on this report and call for an investigation)," he said.
The campaign against child trafficking is a joint collaboration between the government and private sector.
(December 15, 2004 issue)
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