filename: cb-Sep5.doc
Sep 25, 2002
***two (2) stories***
1. JUSTICE FOR FILIPINOS--- Rape Filipinas, new batch of comfort
women
2. 11 FILIPINAS RESCUED FROM PROSTITUTION DENS IN SOUTH KOREA
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
September 5, 2002
JUSTICE FOR FILIPINOS--- Rape Filipinas, new batch of comfort
women
===================================================================
Thus cried by Senators who urged President Arroyo to punish
members of the Malaysia police responsible for the reported rape
of a 13 year old Filipina deportee in Sabah
Senator Manuel Villa said Filipina who were rape and abused by
these policemen in Sabah needs justice.
Referring to them as the new batch of "comfort women",
Villar, chair of the Senate committee on Foreign Relations, said
government should go allthe way in seeing to it that justice is
brought to bear on their offenders.
"We will not tolerate the abuse of our countrymen. Deporting
them and enforcing Malaysian laws is one thing, sexual abuse is
another," said Villar, miffed at the inhumane treatment of
Filipino deportees in Malaysia.
The Philippine fact finding mission Malaysia has so far uncovered
one case of alleged sexual abuse involving a 13-year old Filipino
Christian woman abused by Malaysian cops while in custody
awaiting deportation.
Government confirmed the report which led to a strongly worded
letter from President Arroyo to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohammad, denouncing the alleged rape.
"This disrepect for our women whould not be taken sitting
down. Government must use its diplomatic relations with Malaysia
to pursue charges against offenders if warranted and see to it
that they face the full consequence of their actions in
accordance with their country's laws," said Villar.
Senator Tessie Aquino-Oreta on her part said instead of merely
sending a strongly worded diplomatic protest and letter to
Malaysia to express the country's outrage over the rape of
Filipina minor at the hands of the Malaysian police, President
Arroyo should go one step further in venting her ire by filing a
case before the international courts against Kuala Lumpur.
Oreta said the confirmation of the rape of a 13-year old Filipina
deportees deserves more than a strongly note verbale to Kuala
lumpur as she called on the Palace to file cases of human rights
violations before the international courts to seek redress for
the victim.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon said there are three separate basic issues
that should be raised in dealing with the deportation of
Filipinos from Malaysia.
1. The maltreatment of Filipinos which is tantamount to a
violation of the human rights of deportees in accordance with
universally acceptable principles of human rights;
2. The political issue of the Philippine claim over Sabah whlich
has not been pursued vigorously but was allowed to lie dormant.
3. The economic issue of what to do to address the plight of
deported Filipinos.
Biazon recommended: "the government must ensure that this
subsequent deportation will not be handled with the harsh
treatment suffered by the first batch of deportees."
He added: "the government must separate the human right
issue from the political issue. The Sabah claim should be pursued
in another time in another venue and under different
circumstances.///camille p. balagtas
Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
September 5, 2002
11 FILIPINAS RESCUED FROM PROSTITUTION DENS IN SOUTH KOREA
==========================================================
The Philippine embassy in Seoul recently rescued 11 Filipinas who
were forced into prostitution by their employers in South Korea.
Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. who briefly visited Seoul last
week, said criminal cases have been filed against the recruiters
and employers of the hapless Filipinas who were supposedly
contracted to work as waitresses and bartenders.
Pimentel said, however, that these cases may not prosper because
the victims refuse to testify against their exploiters.
"Thus the offenders who are now on trial in South Korean
courts could go scot-free despite the efforts of the Philippine
embassy and the South Korean authorities to crack down on
prostitution and other illegal activities involving Filipino
women," he said.
Pimentel has filed Senate Resolution 431 calling on the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and other
government agencies concerned to investigate and clamp down on
syndicates recruiting young Filipinas and luring them into the
flesh trade in South Korea.
During his eight-hour stopover in Seoul from an official trip to
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Pimentel said Ambassador Juanito Jarasa
informed him that the embassy could only intervene in specific
cases of abuses against Filipina women if these are brought to
their attention.
He said, the Filipinas who have been lured into prostitution may
be found in various bars and nightclubs near the United States
Military bases in South Korea.
"The trafficking of Filipino women in South Korea begins
with the local recruitment agencies in the Philippines securing
"entertainment visa" for these women. Once they have
entered South Korea, however, they are locked up in nightclubs
and prostitution dens," Pimentel said.
He said the POEA should immediately blacklist the job recruiters
involved in the flesh trade and initiate illegal recruitment and
other criminal charges against them. ///camille p. balagtas