Minors recruited for work saved at Dumaguete Port

Thursday 12th of April 2012

DUMAGUETE CITY, April 12 (PIA) -- Security personnel at the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) here rescued five minors from illegal recruitment at the Dumaguete City port on March 29, 2012.

The minors aged 14 to 16 years old were about to board the Manila-bound Superferry vessel when they were intercepted by guards from Lockheed Security group, a security agency contracted by the PPA.

The port police stopped the minors, one of whom is a deaf-mute, from boarding the ship after they noticed that there was no adult accompanying the minors.

The PPA police, under the supervision of PP/SInsp. Cenando Catalan who heads the port’s operations, immediately rounded up the minors after they failed to present pertinent documents such as identification cards that will verify their age.

Local Labor and Employment Officer Sandra Delfin of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here said the PPA police immediately called them to interview the minors for age verification and to determine if they were victims of illegal recruitment.

“We were able to confirm that these minors were illegally recruited to work in Manila,” Delfin told the Philippine Information Agency here in an interview.

The minors claimed that they were promised babysitting jobs in Manila.

They were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Tanjay City, said Delfin.

DOLE is now eyeing to implement livelihood programs in Brgy. Azagra where the minors live.

“These programs will not only be for the families of the rescued minors but also for others in their village that might possibly fall victim to illegal recruiters,” she said.

Delfin said the Visayan Forum also pledged to provide educational supplies for the rescued minors if they decide to go back to school.

Visayan Forum is a non-government organization that is actively involved in protecting victims of human trafficking, forced labor and other modern-day forms of slavery.

Delfin, who is also DOLE’s focal person on child labor here, said there is a need for local governments to craft ordinances to prevent the illegal recruitment of minors in their areas.

“There should be an ordinance either by the provincial board or the local government units that will require minors to seek clearance from DSWD if they will travel without an adult,” she said. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)