Alert security guards at the Dumaguete port have foiled an attempt to smuggle some undocumented workers from Negros Oriental to Manila last week.
Last week alone, at least seven “kasambahays” bound for Dagupan in Pangasinan, were intercepted by authorities. They found that, despite a certification issued by their Barangay Captain, one of them was a minor. She was returned to her village while the others were documented and their trip was carefully monitored by a non-government organization to ensure that they would not fall into the wrong hands upon reaching Manila.
The recruiter, of what is believed to be a large scale illegal recruitment activity, was jailed.
Human trafficking still exists in Negros Oriental. In Negros Oriental, the Provincial Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Person (PIACAT) identified “hotspots” or major recruitment grounds for human trafficking victims some years back as Sibulan, Zamboanguita, Amlan, Sta. Catalina, Siaton, San Jose, Mabinay, and the cities of Dumaguete, Bayawan and Guihulngan.
Many of these trafficking victims, 80 percent of whom are women, dream of working in real jobs in the big city to earn enough money to support their siblings through school. But they eventually end up working in sleazy conditions. Worse, they end up in the sex trade or become drug mules.
You don’t hear of women from Metro Manila, for instance, looking for work as household help in the provinces. But such is a reality for many people from a poor province like Negros Oriental. where opportunities for prosperity are few.
Job creation should continue to be a priority. We have a lot of raw material. We should be able to create something out of it that will pay workers well enough to make them stay. It may be easier said than done, given that we change leaders or hold elections every 1000 days.
To its credit, the private sector is doing its share of job creation. The BPO industry, for instance, has brought in a lot of new jobs to Negros Oriental in the last few years. As a result of these new jobs, we see restaurants and businesses sprouting all over, in turn creating more jobs.
Hopefully, Human Trafficking will be a thing of the past. And soon.
