Negros Oriental gov't ups drive vs trafficking at port area
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, May 23 (PIA) --- Starting June this year, boat passengers in Dumaguete Citywill see a small card showing a list of hotline numbers attached to their terminal fee stub.
The list enumerates the emergency numbers of provincial and national government agencies to call to stop the transit of victims of illegal trafficking, said Prof. Romualdo Señeres of the Provincial Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking of Persons (PIACAT).
The move is in line with the council's efforts to stamp out illegal trafficking in Negros Oriental, a province that has been identified as a source of illegal trafficking victims. "This is the reason why we are focusing our resources more on prevention of illegal trafficking," he said during a May 19 forum held by the Philippine Information Agency in Dumaguete City.
According to Señeres, said card will be stapled on the terminal fee stub and boat ticket after passengers pay their boat fees. Port security officers checking the tickets of travelers on their way inside the boat or ferry will sound an alarm if they find the card removed or torn from the ticket.
Señeres said illegal recruiters will tend to tear off the card and give only the ticket to their recruits. "This is already a violation of RA 9208 as they will be held liable for acts that promote trafficking and concealing, confiscating or destroying official documents since that card is already considered an official document," he said.
RA 9208 is the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 enacted to eliminate trafficking in persons especially women and children.
Records from Visayan Forum, an organization working to stop illegal recruitment in the province, show that an estimated 3 million Filipinos or 3% of the total Philippine population are at risk of illegal trafficking.
Trafficking, with a global profit pegged between 5 to 9 US$, ranks third among the highest-earning illegal trades worldwide with drugs as the first and gunrunning, second. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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Negros Oriental gov't ups drive vs trafficking at port area
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, May 23 (PIA) --- Starting June this year, boat passengers in Dumaguete Citywill see a small card showing a list of hotline numbers attached to their terminal fee stub.
The list enumerates the emergency numbers of provincial and national government agencies to call to stop the transit of victims of illegal trafficking, said Prof. Romualdo Señeres of the Provincial Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking of Persons (PIACAT).
The move is in line with the council's efforts to stamp out illegal trafficking in Negros Oriental, a province that has been identified as a source of illegal trafficking victims. "This is the reason why we are focusing our resources more on prevention of illegal trafficking," he said during a May 19 forum held by the Philippine Information Agency in Dumaguete City.
According to Señeres, said card will be stapled on the terminal fee stub and boat ticket after passengers pay their boat fees. Port security officers checking the tickets of travelers on their way inside the boat or ferry will sound an alarm if they find the card removed or torn from the ticket.
Señeres said illegal recruiters will tend to tear off the card and give only the ticket to their recruits. "This is already a violation of RA 9208 as they will be held liable for acts that promote trafficking and concealing, confiscating or destroying official documents since that card is already considered an official document," he said.
RA 9208 is the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 enacted to eliminate trafficking in persons especially women and children.
Records from Visayan Forum, an organization working to stop illegal recruitment in the province, show that an estimated 3 million Filipinos or 3% of the total Philippine population are at risk of illegal trafficking.
Trafficking, with a global profit pegged between 5 to 9 US$, ranks third among the highest-earning illegal trades worldwide with drugs as the first and gunrunning, second. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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11IB soldiers undergo drug testing
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, May 23 (PIA) --- Troopers under the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army based in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental will now randomly take drug tests at the Provincial Crime Laboratory in Dumaguete City.
This after the battalion initiated the conduct of random drug tests for its troopers.
So far, all of the soldiers who have taken the test were found negative for illegal drug use as confirmed by PCI Josephine Suico Llena who supervise the drug tests, according to a statement from the 11IB.
The drug tests are held to make sure none of the 11IB troopers are using prohibited substances.
The drug testing will be done periodically for randomly selected soldiers, according to 11IB Commander Lt. Col. Ramil Bitong in the same statement.
Soldiers who will be found positive for illegal drug use will be administratively discharge from the service, said Bitong. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)