IS the road congestion in Cebu giving rise to a different kind of “traffic” - human trafficking?
Residents of Minglanilla, Cebu, for example, who have been agonizing about road traffic in their community, could afford to see humor in recent reports of attempts to kidnap children. There is heightened awareness of the dangers of talking to strangers who may turn out to be sex predators or those who steal children for the purpose of smuggling or selling them for sex or forced labor.
The incident Thursday at the Minglanilla Central School is an example of that heightened awareness. A 10-year-old Grade 4 student told police the suspect held her hand while a 12-year-old classmate said the man grabbed her forcefully. They got scared and one of them bit the man’s hand to escape. The girls and two other classmates ran back to school and told their teacher about six persons who tried to force them into a van.
The main suspect denied he had ill intentions and explained he was at the girls’ school to sell books and interactive materials. He spoke to the girls to ask where to buy guavas and may, in the process, have held the hand of one. But the girls felt they were in danger and did what was taught them to protect themselves from bad people. Thanks to the parents, teachers, and the community who gave lessons on what to do in such situations.
An online comment on the SunStar Cebu report on the arrest of the suspects made light of the matter, not to ridicule anyone but because the children ended up safe. “Vehicle traffic to Minglanilla is gridlocked enough...Now they have human trafficking because the road to Minglanilla has no sidewalks...causing human traffic,” said the account holder named “110 million rising.”
What is serious and cannot be joked about is that the Minglanilla school girls really got scared and the incident comes as several reports of attempted kidnapping have been made in Toledo City, Naga City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Pinamungajan and Daanbantayan towns. Metro Cebu is said to be one of the areas where sex trafficking is prevalent.
Anti-human trafficking agencies in the United Nations and United States have cited the Philippines for prevalent child abuse where poor families push their children to perform live sex online for pedophiles. Foreigners come for sex tours and get pampered by tour agents, those in hotels, pimps, and even bus or taxi drivers.
While the Philippines is complying with efforts to curb trafficking, the prosecution of suspects, seeing to it that they answer the charges, is deficient. Seven South Korean nationals who came to Cebu for sex tourism were believed to have left the country after posting bail. There was no confirmation of their departure despite the court’s travel restriction. This was not the first time a foreigner charged with a sex crime got deported or just left to escape prosecution.
More can be done to scale up anti-trafficking efforts. One is to increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers. Once arrested, they have to answer the charges. Don’t let them have the last laugh by getting away with a sex crime.