HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human trafficking and the prostitution of children is a significant issue in the Philippines, often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Human Trafficking in the Philippines is a crime against humanity.
In an effort to deal with the problem, the Philippines passed R.A. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, a penal law against human trafficking, sex tourism,sex slavery and child prostitution. Enforcement is reported to be inconsistent.
Statistics
A 1997 report put the number of child victims of prostitution at 75,000 in the Philippines., with other estimates saying as many as 100,000.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines are involved in prostitution rings. According to the International Labour Organization(ILO) about 100,000 children are involved in prostitution. is a high incidence of child prostitution in tourist areas. An undetermined number of children are forced into exploitative labor operations.
The Philippines is the fourth country with the most number of prostituted children, and authorities have identified an increase in child molesters travelling to the Philippines.
There are estimated to be 375,000 women and girls in the sex trade in the Philippines, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, though some are as young as 11.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies state that there are more than 1.5 million street children in the Philippines and many end up in prostitution and drug trafficking in places such as Manila and Angeles City.
Government and NGO estimates on the number of women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000 and the number of children trafficked range from 60,000 to 100,000. According to the US government reports, the number of child victims in the Philippines range from 20,000 to 100,000, with foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, as perpetrators.
An estimated 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines are involved in prostitution rings, according to Minette Rimando, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'S International Labour Organization's Manila office. Based on the statistics provided by the Visayan Forum Foundation, most victims are between 12 to 22 years old.
The Philippines is ranked under Tier 2 Watch List in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report of the United States (US) State Department due to the Philippine government’s alleged failure to show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking.
Problem areas and history
A report published in 2004 by the Vatican stated: The Philippines has a serious trafficking problem of women and children illegally recruited into the tourist industry for sexual exploitation. Destinations within the country are Metro Manila, Angels City, Olongapo City, towns in Bulacan, Batangas, Cebu City, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City and other sex tourist resorts such as Puerto Galera, which is notorious, Pagsanjan, Laguna, San Fernando Pampanga, and many beach resorts throughout the country. The promise of recruiters offers women and children attractive jobs in the country or abroad, and instead they are coerced and forced and controlled into the sex industry for tourists.
Puerto Galera
There are numerous cases of child molestation that have been reported in Puerto Galera, a beach resort on Mindoro Island three hours south of Manila. The area is a favorite for foreign child molesters seeking children. Puerto Galera has been described as one of the Philippines top five spots for child prostitution
Angeles City
Go-go bars, massage parlors and prostitution were prominent in the "entertainment district" of Ermita, Manila. In 1991 a volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced an evacuation and destroyed much of the Clark Air Base, a major United States military facility located 40 miles (60 km) northwest of Manila, which closed shortly thereafter. Most the of sex trade around the base closed at the same time due to the loss of the GI customers. Mayor Alfredo Lim proceeded to crack down on Manila's remaining sex industry, causing many of these businesses to relocate to Angeles City, which borders on the closed base, and was becoming a popular tourist destination especially with former GI's. By the late 1990s, UNICEF estimated that there are 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines, describing Angeles City brothels as "notorious" for offering sex with children. In 1997, the BBC reported that UNICEF estimated many of the 200 brothels in the notorious Angeles City offer children for sex. In 2004, Police arrested foreigners and Filipino's and rescued 15 females of a child pornography and cybersex ring in Angeles City.
The current trade is dominated by Australian bar operators and sustained by tourists seeking inexpensive sex, often with children. In bars catering mostly to foreign men, girls are sold for a "bar fine". Conditions are sometimes brutal Children and teenagers are lured into the industry from poor areas by promises of money and care, and are kept there by threats, debt bondage and the fear of poverty.Angeles City is one of the largest sex tourist destinations in the world with just over 15 thousand women working in its various sex establishments (brothels, bars and videokes).
UNICEF reports evidence of growing child pornography production in Angeles City. Children as young as ten years old have been rescued from brothels in Angeles.
Angeles Mayor Francis Nepomuceno has acknowledged the problem. “We admit having HIV cases and that prostitution may be flourishing". STD cases rose five times. The RHWC treated 1,421 cases in 2005, 2,516 cases in 2006 and 6,229 cases in 2007. Most of the afflicted were women.
In 2010, CNN ran an article about a 15 year old who began working in prostitution in a bar in the notorious fields ave, Angeles City because she needed money to support her baby. She was eventually trafficked to Malaysia where she was forced to take drugs and forced to service 20 customers a day
Metro Manila
Visayan Forum Foundation has established that most of the children and young women trafficked to Manila from rural areas in search of work are assured jobs as domestic workers, but in a significant number of cases end up in the sex trade.
Pagsanjan
CNN states that "A decade ago, Pagsanjan, located about 60 miles south of Manila, became known as a popular location for men seeking homosexual prostitutes." Pagsanjan began to attract an increasing number of child molesters. "In the '80s, Pagsanjan was declared by international gay publications as a paradise for them, a gay paradise, a haven for homosexuals", said Dr. Sonia Zaide, an activist who is particularly concerned by the expansion of the town's sex trade to include minors, mostly young boys Time magazine reported in 1993 that Pagsanjan was a favorite destination for sex tourists seeking children. The Filipino government began a crackdown on the child sex industry in Pagsanjan and 23 people of varying nationalities were arrested. Foreign child molesters take advantage of the poverty, with children often being used as sexual currency by their own parents. Since then the town of Pagsanjan through civic action has dramatically reduced child prostitution.
Pasay
Childhope Asia Philippines, Inc. has a Community Mobilization against Child Prostitution project to prevent child prostitution in Pasay.Children as young as 14- and 15-year-olds are child prostitutes in Pasay clubs.
Makati
In 2003, Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay ordered a crackdown against prostitution following reports that some prostitutes are linked to criminal syndicates. 33 women were rescued from a sex trafficking operation in Makati City by a team of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents.The Chief of the Southern Police District deployed policemen in schools in Makati City after the abductions of children by those involved in the sex trade industry. P/Supt. Manuel Cabigon, SPD director, said the increased police presence in schools would deter members of a flesh trade syndicate from further pursuing their illegal activities.
Davao City
October 5 has become the Day of No Prostitution Campaign in Davao City. The Philippine Information Agency reports documented cases of children as young as 10 years old forced into prostitution in Davao. Davao provinces, along with the Caraga region, have become the favorites of child traffickers posing as tourists. Davao is one of the top five areas for child prostitution and sex tourism. The Tambayan Center for Abused Street Girls reports more than 1,000 teenage girls have turned to prostitution in Davao City, charging as little as 50 cents.
Cebu
It is estimated there are 10,000 young girls trafficked into sex slavery in Cebu.[61] "What has become very obvious is a growing market for child prostitutes," says Father Heinz, a Catholic priest who has been involved for more than a decade in initiatives to beat the pimps and child-traffickers.[61] Cebu remains a destination, source and transit area for human trafficking, where women and children victims are brought to be “processed”.[7] Cebu has been the destination of international and domestic trafficking of children, aged from 11 to 17 years old.[62]
Pampanga Province
More than a dozen of cybersex operations have been busted in the Pampanga province and Angeles City areas, this resulted in the rescue of hundreds of exploited women, most of them minors or below 18 years of age. Human trafficking or trafficking in person is some sort of slavery. Hundreds of computers sets have been seized, including sex toys and other gadgets used in the cybersex operations mostly maintained by foreigners. A forum hosted by the Prosecution Law Enforcement and Community Coordinating Service (proleccs) discussed several factors that contribute to the human trafficking problem and these include poverty, the proliferation of underground cybersex through internet and sex tourism.
Lucena City
Police have rescued at least 14 women, three of them minors, from the den of a suspected human trafficker.
Zambales province
Subic Bay
In 1988 a Naval Investigative undercover operation based in Subic Bay were offered children for sex as young as 4. Many of those involved in the prostitution of children have been brought to justice in the courts. Most of the 16,000 women estimated to have worked the bars around the largest overseas naval base were forced into the sex industry. One 16 year old child tells of her experience in Subic Bay: She was locked in a room for a month, starved and force-fed drugs and alcohol to ensure she was addicted and could be more easily controlled. She was often beaten unconscious for refusing to have sex with customers.Pregnancy, abortion, the spread of disease and drug abuse were just some of the indignities imposed on Filipinas. Despite the US pull-out from Subic Bay in 1992, continues to fester, catering to a new generation of civilian sex tourists. The former naval base, and current visits by American military have been the subject of protests by welfare groups and activists in Subic. Brandishing placards and chanting slogans, members of WAIL and GABRIELA called for justice for all victims of human rights abuses.
Olongapo
Trafficking of Women and Children in Olongapo was rampant during the time of the Subic Naval Base located close by. In 1988, the US Naval Investigative Service confirmed the existence of child prostitution in Olongapo City.[71] After the base closure a new child molesters clientele from countries such as Australia and Europe moved in. In Olongapo City, there are believed to be 15,000 prostitutes, almost 8% of the total population. Olongapo special prosecutor Dorentino Z. Floresta states, "Politicians do not want people to know that these things are happening in Olongapo," said Floresta.
Visayas
Eastern Visayas continues to be a source of women and children being sent to Metro Manila brothels and sweatshops. Department of Social Welfare and Development officials said the number of human trafficking cases was increasing.Leticia Corillo, DSWD regional director stated that the victims were mostly children and women.Seventy percent are aged from 13 to 17 years old. A DSWD report, said the Waray towns of Paranas and Jiabong and Calbayog City in Samar province and Mapanas and Las Navas in Northern Samar are considered as human trafficking “hotspots."
Parañaque City
MA Foundation, the Women’s Legal Bureau and the Office of the President’s Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes raided a house in BF Executive Homes, Parañaque City, on Nov. 7, 2003, rescuing 31 women. Another 40 women were rescued in the next raid.
