Jeanette Laurel Ampog, executive director Talikala Inc. (Paulo C. Rizal/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — As the fighting in Marawi City enters its 74th day today, it is not far-fetched that women and children displaced by the ongoing fighting are now being targeted by traffickers in the country, women’s groups here said Friday.
Jeanette Ampog, executive director of Talikala Inc. said conflict is an “enabling environment for traffickers.”
“Internally displaced persons are easier to recruit, they are the most vulnerable,” Ampog told Davao Today in an interview with Davao Today during the forum called SONA: PRRD’s Promise of Change, post-State of the Nation Address forum held at the Ateneo de Davao University.
She said one of the factors which increases the cases of trafficking is war and conflict.
“That is proven by the experiences of other countries where displaced persons are easily recruited to go to other places. And we fear that evacuees from Marawi City will be confronted with a similar situation,” she said.
Ampog said, because of war and conflict, a person loses his home, work and will be forced to live in a different place.
“Traffickers can easily prey on them because they have no other recourse,” she said.
In Davao City, for instance, Ampog said young girls remain easy targets of sex trafficking because of the lack of opportunities for them to get an education and decent work.
“We have recorded two sisters from Calinan who were recruited to work in the downtown area. They were promised that there are lots of jobs along San Pedro Street,” she said.
San Pedro Street is the city center where the local government offices are located.
However, at night, the street remains one of the markets for prostituted women, said Ampog.
She said the sisters aged 15 and 18 came from a poor family whom they were able to interview along San Pedro Street.
“They have nothing to eat, that’s one of the factors which will push a woman to prostitution, if you have nothing to eat you will be forced to engage in sex trafficking,” she said.
Lift martial law
A leader of an organization of women and children engaged in prostitution and sex trafficking here also said women and children in conflict are more vulnerable to trafficking and prostitution as she called on the government to lift Martial Law.
“Those who are displaced do not have jobs anymore and could be easy targets of traffickers, especially those who find it difficult to feed their families,” said Jillian Golosinda, chairperson of Lawig Bubai-Davao.
Jillian said President Rodrigo Duterte’s move to extend martial law endangers women and children affected by the conflict. “Martial law should be lifted now,” she said.
She stressed that residents here might not feel the impact of Martial Law, which was extended by a joint hearing of the Congress until December 31 this year, but those who were displaced by the conflict in Marawi City and nearby provinces are vulnerable.
“Not only are women and children vulnerable to traffickers, they are also vulnerable to sickness and other diseases,” she said.
As a survivor of prostitution, Jillian said prostitution is not a choice of women, but a situation where they are forced to engage due to poverty.
“If you have nothing to feed your family and you get an offer, would you not do it?” she said.
Half a million evacuees
Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson of Lanao del Sur Provincial Crisis Committee said more than half of the IDPs population are women and children.
Adiong told Davao Today that the IDPs vulnerability to abuses is among their concern.
“That is why we want to ensure that their host local government units will provide the IDPs with their basic needs, food provisions, to help protect them from traffickers,” Adiong said.
He said local government units should monitor the situation of the IDPs and the police should provide security to ward off exploiters.
The fighting in Marawi City, which started on May 23, has caused the displacement of almost half a million residents in the province. The 8,407-hectare city is the capital and the largest city of Lanao del Sur province.
As of 5pm on Tuesday, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Crisis Management Committee recorded 209,062 individuals house-based internally displaced persons and 268,270 IDPs in evacuation centers. (davaotoday.com)s. (davaotoday.com)
