15 BOHOL GIRLS STOPPED
A guard at the Cebu port noticed something strange about the group of travelers.
Two Tagalog-speaking women arrived by ferry from Bohol province escorting 15 adolescent girls past 6 p.m. Friday.
They all checked in and were set to board a SuperFerry 12 vessel for Manila scheduled to depart in two hours.
They didn’t look like relatives or students on a field trip.
Noting the young ages of the girls, the guard in Pier 4 tipped off Maritime police.
Authorities arrested the woman, Emma Leocadio, 41, and her daughter Sheryl, 22, who failed to present documents to justify why they had so many children, who were not their relatives, in their company.
The girls were recruited from Getafe town in Bohol and were promised jobs as nannies and housemaids in Manila.
The police are preparing charges of violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 to be filed tomorrow in the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office.
The girls, whose ages ranged from 14 to 21, were turned over to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The arrested mother and daughter said they were residents of barangay Pasong Tamo, Tandang Sora, Quezon City.
At first the girls from Bohol all claimed to be 18 years old or older.
Only when they were separated from Leocadio and her daughter did they give their true ages.
“They seemed to be afraid,” said Senior Insp. Joselito Blazo, head of the 701st Maritime Police Station.
Based on interviews and a physical examination of their teeth, 12 were confirmed to be minors or below 18 years old.
The police operation was supported by the International Justice Mission (IJM), whose advocacy is to stamp out human trafficking and to rescue victims.
Since the victims are minors, charges against the suspects will fall under “qualified trafficking,” a nonbailable offense that carries a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P2 million to P5 million if a court finds them guilty.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia welcomed the apprehension, saying it shows that the drive against human trafficking is no longer the concern of only one agency.
Garcia said this was the offshoot of meetings held with airlines, hotels, restaurants, ship owners as well as porters.
“It was precisely because we have called on all sectors,” she said.
“I believe this happened because porters tipped off authorities. They saw the red flags … something suspicious. That information proved to be very crucial,” she added.
The rescue, Garcia said, was a “collaborative effort” of many sectors.
“Cebu is showing the way again. And we are leading in this fight against human trafficking,” she said
Blazo said a security guard at the SuperCat terminal alerted the Maritime police, suspecting that the young girls were being illegally brought to Manila.
Blazo said the suspects could not present a permit from the Department of Labor and Employment to certify that they were legitimate recruiters.
They also failed to show any permit from an agency or authorization from the girls’ parents.
Police recovered 17 SuperFerry tickets worth P1,242 each from the suspects.
The woman and her daughter declined to say anything when Cebu Daily News found them at the Waterfront police station. Both have difficulty understanding Cebuano.
At least four persons visited them yesterday, bringing them rice and adobong baboy to eat.
PO2 Edwin Tapero at the police desk said the visitors claimed to be friends. No lawyer has visited them yet.
Blazo urged the public to help authorities in fighting against human trafficking.
“This will be solved if people volunteer information to the police. This will help us easily monitor and detect the problem,” Blazo said.
“The police can’t do it alone. We need a public eye,” he added.
Porters at Pier 4 told CDN they just attended a seminar about human trafficking last week. The seminar conducted by the Visayan Forum aimed to help them spot persons who violate the law against human trafficking.
The identity of the security guard who tipped off Maritime police is being withheld for security purposes.
Andrey Sawchenko, national director of IJM Philippines, said they are supporting the police in the case.
“It appears to be another case of human trafficking. It’s horrific to see perpetrators or traffickers believed to be exploiting young victims,” Sawchenko told Cebu Daily News over the phone.
When asked if IJM will submit affidavits of the rescued girls to the prosecutors’ office, Sawchenko said, “We’ll see.”
“It’s up to them whether or not to execute an affidavit,” he said.
Sawchenko lauded the police in its campaign against human trafficking.
“It’s very encouraging,” he said.
“The public has a huge role (in the campaign against human trafficking). They should not tolerate such kind of activities. They should stand up and report the case to authorities so the crime does not occur again,” he said./ with correspondents Carmel Loise Matus and Norman Mendoza. –Ador Vincent Mayol, Cebu Daily News
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