10 child workers rescued from Binondo mall

MANILA, Philippines – Ten underage workers were rescued by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents from their Chinese employers at the 168 mall in Binondo, Manila yesterday.

“This is the first case we’ve had with foreigners as human traffickers and the trafficking is done in the country,” NBI Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTRAD) chief Dante Bonoan told reporters.

Based on a report received by AHTRAD, most of the workers receive less than P150 a day after working for 14 hours as salespersons.

Some of them would even work as maids after the mall hours, Bonoan said.

“The only rest they get is when they sleep,” he added.

Representatives from the justice, labor and social welfare departments accompanied NBI agents in rescuing the workers, whose employers are liable for violating the laws prohibiting human trafficking and child abuse and protecting the rights of kasambahays or domestic workers.

Bonoan said what made this disturbing is that foreigners are trafficking Filipinos in the Philippines.

“According to the Department of Justice, this is one of the worst forms of labor trafficking,” he said. –Aie Balagtas See (The Philippine Star)