Anti-trafficking seminars set in 10 PHL provinces with rampant illegal recruitment
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will conduct anti-human trafficking Pre-Employment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) in 10 Philippine provinces where illegal recruitment is rampant.
During the Forum on Forced Labor Trafficking at the POEA headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, POEA Director Lucia Villamayor said the PEOS aims to educate Filipino job seekers about human trafficking and other job issues.
Among the provinces where the POEA intends to hold the PEOS are Isabela, Quirino, Batangas, and Pampanga.
Human trafficking, also known as "modern-day slavery," affected 20.9 million people globally in 2012, Villamayor noted.
The PEOS is a three-hour seminar that provides aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) basic knowledge about illegal recruitment, forced labor, and human trafficking as well as how to avoid these.
The PEOS is being conducted daily at the POEA headquarters. It is also held in schools across Metro Manila such as the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Villamayor urged the public to avail of the POEA programs, especially against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
“Kung mayroong pre-employment orientation seminars na kinoconduct sa school or sa local government units, umattend sila doon,” she said.
“'Yun naman ay for free, para maging aware sila kung ano ang overseas employment program at kung ano ang nararapat nilang gawin kung sial aya magkaroon ng problema tungkol dito,” she added.
Remedial measures
The PEOS, a preventive measure program of the POEA, is paired with the agency's remedial measures against human trafficking such as counselling and assistance during the preliminary investigation of cases.
Villamayor said the POEA intends to give greater focus to information dissemination, law enforcement, and prosecution in the government's fight against human trafficking.
She mentioned that the agency partnered with headhunter site Jobstreet to facilitate PEOS during its major job fairs. The POEA likewise sends “e-blasts” to job seekers via Jobstreet.
The POEA is also coordinating with various government and non-government ogranizations such as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and Blas F. Ople Training Institute in addressing human trafficking.
Human trafficking a global problem
Meanwhile, POEA Deputy Administrator Amuerfina Reyes, citing data from the International Labor Organizations 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labor, said 11.7 million out of the 20.9 million people affected by human trafficking worldwide in 2012 are from the Asia-Pacific region.
Globally, about three in 1,000 people are in forced labor, Reyes said, adding that 12.4 million or 55 percent are women and girls while 8.5 million or 45 percent are men and boys.
ILO consultant Atty. Robert Larga, a speaker during the forum, noted that 5.5 million children aged 17 and below, make up roughly 25 percent of human trafficking exploitees.
Larga added that about 68 percent of the human trafficking victims are in forced labor while 22 percent are suffering sexual exploitation.
Reyes said forced labor was a form of slavery, an act of stripping one's basic human dignity through involuntary servitude.
“Imagine being forced to work against your will,” she said.
Two recent convictions
Larga cited the two "small victories" in the fight against human trafficking: the two recent convictions of human traffickers in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
The 2011 Cagayan de Oro case involved a group picking up children to become street beggars.
The 2010 Zamboanga case was about a Filipina who was supposed to work as a domestic helper in Malaysia but ended up as a waitress who was sexually abused. - VVP, GMA News
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will conduct anti-human trafficking Pre-Employment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) in 10 Philippine provinces where illegal recruitment is rampant.
During the Forum on Forced Labor Trafficking at the POEA headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, POEA Director Lucia Villamayor said the PEOS aims to educate Filipino job seekers about human trafficking and other job issues.
Among the provinces where the POEA intends to hold the PEOS are Isabela, Quirino, Batangas, and Pampanga.
Human trafficking, also known as "modern-day slavery," affected 20.9 million people globally in 2012, Villamayor noted.
The PEOS is a three-hour seminar that provides aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) basic knowledge about illegal recruitment, forced labor, and human trafficking as well as how to avoid these.
The PEOS is being conducted daily at the POEA headquarters. It is also held in schools across Metro Manila such as the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Villamayor urged the public to avail of the POEA programs, especially against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
“Kung mayroong pre-employment orientation seminars na kinoconduct sa school or sa local government units, umattend sila doon,” she said.
“'Yun naman ay for free, para maging aware sila kung ano ang overseas employment program at kung ano ang nararapat nilang gawin kung sial aya magkaroon ng problema tungkol dito,” she added.
Remedial measures
The PEOS, a preventive measure program of the POEA, is paired with the agency's remedial measures against human trafficking such as counselling and assistance during the preliminary investigation of cases.
Villamayor said the POEA intends to give greater focus to information dissemination, law enforcement, and prosecution in the government's fight against human trafficking.
She mentioned that the agency partnered with headhunter site Jobstreet to facilitate PEOS during its major job fairs. The POEA likewise sends “e-blasts” to job seekers via Jobstreet.
The POEA is also coordinating with various government and non-government ogranizations such as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and Blas F. Ople Training Institute in addressing human trafficking.
Human trafficking a global problem
Meanwhile, POEA Deputy Administrator Amuerfina Reyes, citing data from the International Labor Organizations 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labor, said 11.7 million out of the 20.9 million people affected by human trafficking worldwide in 2012 are from the Asia-Pacific region.
Globally, about three in 1,000 people are in forced labor, Reyes said, adding that 12.4 million or 55 percent are women and girls while 8.5 million or 45 percent are men and boys.
ILO consultant Atty. Robert Larga, a speaker during the forum, noted that 5.5 million children aged 17 and below, make up roughly 25 percent of human trafficking exploitees.
Larga added that about 68 percent of the human trafficking victims are in forced labor while 22 percent are suffering sexual exploitation.
Reyes said forced labor was a form of slavery, an act of stripping one's basic human dignity through involuntary servitude.
“Imagine being forced to work against your will,” she said.
Two recent convictions
Larga cited the two "small victories" in the fight against human trafficking: the two recent convictions of human traffickers in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
The 2011 Cagayan de Oro case involved a group picking up children to become street beggars.
The 2010 Zamboanga case was about a Filipina who was supposed to work as a domestic helper in Malaysia but ended up as a waitress who was sexually abused. - VVP, GMA News
During the Forum on Forced Labor Trafficking at the POEA headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, POEA Director Lucia Villamayor said the PEOS aims to educate Filipino job seekers about human trafficking and other job issues.
Among the provinces where the POEA intends to hold the PEOS are Isabela, Quirino, Batangas, and Pampanga.
Human trafficking, also known as "modern-day slavery," affected 20.9 million people globally in 2012, Villamayor noted.
The PEOS is a three-hour seminar that provides aspiring overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) basic knowledge about illegal recruitment, forced labor, and human trafficking as well as how to avoid these.
The PEOS is being conducted daily at the POEA headquarters. It is also held in schools across Metro Manila such as the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Villamayor urged the public to avail of the POEA programs, especially against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
“Kung mayroong pre-employment orientation seminars na kinoconduct sa school or sa local government units, umattend sila doon,” she said.
“'Yun naman ay for free, para maging aware sila kung ano ang overseas employment program at kung ano ang nararapat nilang gawin kung sial aya magkaroon ng problema tungkol dito,” she added.
Remedial measures
The PEOS, a preventive measure program of the POEA, is paired with the agency's remedial measures against human trafficking such as counselling and assistance during the preliminary investigation of cases.
Villamayor said the POEA intends to give greater focus to information dissemination, law enforcement, and prosecution in the government's fight against human trafficking.
She mentioned that the agency partnered with headhunter site Jobstreet to facilitate PEOS during its major job fairs. The POEA likewise sends “e-blasts” to job seekers via Jobstreet.
The POEA is also coordinating with various government and non-government ogranizations such as the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and Blas F. Ople Training Institute in addressing human trafficking.
Human trafficking a global problem
Meanwhile, POEA Deputy Administrator Amuerfina Reyes, citing data from the International Labor Organizations 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labor, said 11.7 million out of the 20.9 million people affected by human trafficking worldwide in 2012 are from the Asia-Pacific region.
Globally, about three in 1,000 people are in forced labor, Reyes said, adding that 12.4 million or 55 percent are women and girls while 8.5 million or 45 percent are men and boys.
ILO consultant Atty. Robert Larga, a speaker during the forum, noted that 5.5 million children aged 17 and below, make up roughly 25 percent of human trafficking exploitees.
Larga added that about 68 percent of the human trafficking victims are in forced labor while 22 percent are suffering sexual exploitation.
Reyes said forced labor was a form of slavery, an act of stripping one's basic human dignity through involuntary servitude.
“Imagine being forced to work against your will,” she said.
Two recent convictions
Larga cited the two "small victories" in the fight against human trafficking: the two recent convictions of human traffickers in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
The 2011 Cagayan de Oro case involved a group picking up children to become street beggars.
The 2010 Zamboanga case was about a Filipina who was supposed to work as a domestic helper in Malaysia but ended up as a waitress who was sexually abused. - VVP, GMA News
Comments