DAVAO City Councilor Antoinette Principe said Friday the proposed Davao City-General Santos City-Tahuna-Bitung sea route will be solely for cargo in order to avoid opportunities for human trafficking.
"We do not want to make it easy for predators of human trafficking," said Principe, chairperson of the City Council committee on international relations.
She said they are still currently working on the development of the Sasa Wharf for this operation with the trade and industry sector.
"The budget is there already but we are still working on it," said Principe, who also insisted that measures have to be set in place to ensure that human trafficking can be detected and stopped.
"We might end up exporting humans illegally instead, which we should not allow to happen," the councilor said.
She said what needs to be looked into as well is the proliferation of prostitution.
She said that other than the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Davao City Social Services and Development Office, the city has a strong non-government organization (NGO) network that iss constantly monitoring against human trafficking activities.
Principe said that during the recent investors meeting she participated in Dubai together with other cities in Mindanao, three key projects were specified for the city.
These projects, she said, are the expansion of the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, expansion of the Sasa Wharf, and an eco-tourism park, which will be located at the three ridges triad (Katigan, Eden Park and Tagurano).
"When these projects are implemented, the city's connectivity will get a boost," she said.