Garcia vows cash aid for trafficking victims

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu provincial government will extend a P10,000-financial assistance to each of the 16 Cebuano fishermen who were victims of human trafficking and whom authorities rescued in Sulu Province in Mindanao last September 19.

Gov. Gwen Garcia made this assurance during an interview with Ben Tulfo, host of TV program "Bitag Live," made last Monday, Sept. 25, the same day they arrived at Pier 4 in Cebu City.

The 16 were among the 119 individuals belonging to 98 families whom the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-7 assisted upon their arrival also last Monday.

According to the Facebook page of Sugbo News, the provincial government's official information channel, Tulfo’s program has been documenting the rescue of the victims, who mostly came from Cebu and Bohol provinces.

As reported, the governor already directed the Cebu Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office to provide assistance to the victims, who are now back in Cebu, so they could already return to normal lives.

The victims were reportedly enticed by their recruiters into going to Sulu, with promises of finding jobs in either Malaysia or Indonesia by sneaking them to these countries through the Philippines’ southern "backdoor."

Instead, the victims, who included whole families with children, ended up doing hard labor in Tubalubac Island, which was allegedly heavily guarded by armed handlers.

Many on an island (Pangutaran) were allegedly also made to do slave work and forced to do spearfishing and other similar activities, with unjust compensation.

In coming to Cebu last Monday, the victims were accompanied by personnel from the Ministry of Social Services and Development-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM), Philippine National Police-Sulu, Women and Children Protection Center-Mindanao Field Unit, and the Special Action Force, which worked together to rescue them.

DSWD-7 Information Officer Leah Quintana earlier said there were a total of 131 victims, but only 119 were brought to Cebu City, because 12 were returned to Sulu and Zamboanga for "processing."

She said that most of the rescued victims, who are mostly fishermen and their families, hail from the Visayas regions, particularly Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu City, Daanbantayan town, Danao City, and Talisay City in Cebu province; and Talibon, Inabanga, Tubigon, Getafe, Trinidad, and Tagbilaran City in Bohol province.

There were also those who hailed from Samar in Eastern Visayas.

DSWD-7 also provided the 98 families with a cash assistance of P10,000 each.

DSWD-7 Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero earlier requested concerned local government units to further assess the needs of the victims’ families and provide the appropriate interventions, whether through their own support or that of national government agencies. — /RHM (FREEMAN)