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MANILA, Philippines -- Human trafficking of Filipinos in Singapore was at an ?all-time high? last year, surging to 212 cases from 125 cases in 2006, or an increase by 70 percent over a one-year period, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
In a report, the Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anota told Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that the embassy last year ?handled the highest number of human trafficking cases since the embassy started monitoring the number of cases three years ago.?
The report called the increase ?alarming,? even as it noted that it might represent only a ?small fraction of all the Filipino human trafficking victims in Singapore.?
This conclusion was derived by the embassy from the statements of many who sought help. They said that many others were unable or too afraid to escape from the pubs or bars where they were being exploited.
The ambassador said the number of cases in 2007 was also more than three times that in 2005, when the embassy handled only 59 cases.
The report said that budget air fare, which significantly lowered the cost of travel from the Philippines to Singapore, made it ?easier and cheaper? for traffickers to do their deed.
The embassy also blamed ?the network of illegal recruiters and, quite possibly, syndicates operating across borders, who manage to persuade their recruits through various modes of deception and intimidation.?
It also cited the basic economic law of supply (from the Philippines) and demand (from Singapore) for the increase in trafficking cases.
Filipino victims are pushed to try their luck in Singapore not only because of the poverty and unemployment in the country, but also because of the promise of lucrative jobs and the thrill of overseas employment.
On the other hand, ?The existence of a large number of bars/pubs in Singapore?s red light districts?fuel the demand for Filipino women,? the report said.
This year-end report of the Philippine embassy in Singapore confirms an INQUIRER.net special report, http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=99136, on how victims are being lured into leaving and being exploited when they?re already in the city-state.
The modus operandi essentially has illegal recruiters promise young women non-existent jobs as waitresses or guest relations officers in restaurants and hotels in Singapore.
They are each charged a minimal S$100 to S$1,000 as recruitment fee in the Philippines, and given roundtrip tickets (sometimes the return ticket is fake), a fake invitation letter, and ?show money? for showing to Philippine immigration officials who scrutinize their financial capacity as tourists.
Expecting to work in legitimate jobs, Filipinas end up working as prostitutes. They are forced to provide sexual services to customers and earn commissions from alcoholic drinks to enable them to pay the $1,000 to S$4,000 they allegedly owe their handlers.
The report said victims who fled to the embassy were provided shelter and assisted in their repatriation back to the Philippines. They are interviewed, their affidavit taken, and are advised to file a complaint either in Singapore or in the Philippines.
The embassy said that while several human traffickers have been apprehended and many cases have been filed against other violators, more stringent requirements have also been imposed on the travel of minors and young women -- the most vulnerable to human trafficking -- in efforts to stop this transnational crime.
?Despite these efforts, however, the problem is complex and does not have any short-term solutions as it involves conditions in the source country [the Philippines] as well as the destination country [Singapore],? the report revealed.
Anota said that the Philippine embassy had been coordinating closely with Philippine and Singapore authorities to address the growing problem.
In its Human Trafficking Report of 2007, released this June, the United States? Department of State noted this increase of Asian women (from People?s Republic of China, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam) being deceived or coerced into sexual servitude in the city-state so much so that it downgraded Singapore from Tier 1 in 2006 to Tier 2 in 2007.
The State Department has four categories for levels of compliance with the Trafficking in Persons Act, which provides the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking:
? Tier 1 is the category of countries that ?fully comply? with the law.
? Tier 2 is for countries that ?do not fully comply with these standards but making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.?
Tier 2 Watch List is for countries ?requiring special scrutiny because of a high or significantly increasing number of victims; failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons; or an assessment as Tier 2 based on commitments to take action over the next year.?
? Tier 3 is for countries that ?neither satisfy the minimum standards nor demonstrate a significant effort to come into compliance; countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.?
