John Kerry to visit Tacloban

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State John Kerry will visit typhoon-ravaged Tacloban on his trip to the Philippines next week to witness first-hand the recovery efforts taking place there and discuss how the United States can continue to contribute to relief and reconstruction work, the State Department said.

Kerry will visit Manila before going to Tacloban to meet with senior Philippine officials to discuss economic, security and people-to-people relations, spokesperson Jan Psaki said.

She did not give specific timeframes for the Manila and Tacloban visits which come at the end of Kerry’s trip from Dec. 11-18 to Jerusalem, Palestinian Ramallah, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam and Tacloban and Manila in the Philippines.

“Within the Asia-Pacific rebalance, Southeast Asia holds special importance, and the secretary’s travel to Vietnam and the Philippines demonstrates the enduring US commitment and his personal connections to the region,” Psaki said.

The Philippines and Vietnam are involved in disputes with China over maritime territory in the South China Sea and it is feared Beijing might impose an air defense identification zone there similar to what it clamped over the East China Sea recently to bolster its claim to disputed islands known as Senkakus to the Japanese and the Diaoyu to the Chinese.

US and Filipino officials are likely to discuss the South China Sea and US-Phl trade relations, particularly the Trans-Pacific Partnership during Kerry’s visit to Manila, diplomatic sources said.

Looking for victims

 Meanwhile, an official of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) yesterday said some foreigners, believed to be members of international human trafficking syndicates, are looking for prey in areas badly affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

“We have alerted our task forces at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to be on the lookout for these foreigners,” said Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Raymond Jonathan Lledo, who heads the National Inter-Agency Task Force Against Trafficking.

“We have yet to verify reports that there had been attempts to recruit in typhoon-stricken areas because they know that since many of the people there have lost their jobs, they would be forced to take drastic measures,” he said.

He added that they are also monitoring certain areas in Metro Manila where the syndicates allegedly bring their victims before they are trafficked out of the country.  – With Evelyn Macairan