AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas signs the declaration of commitment to fight human trafficking on Monday (July 27, 2020). The organizers lined-up activities for the week-long celebration, which will be highlighted by wearing something blue on Thursday (July 30, 2020). (Photo by Arnold Almacen/CMO)
ILOILO CITY – The city government is urging the public to wear blue on Thursday to show support to the global campaign versus human trafficking.
Mayor Jerry Treñas expressed its support to the campaign during a flag-raising ceremony held at the Plaza Libertad here on Monday.
“We denounced modern-day slavery, a crime against humanity. We acknowledged that collectively, we have this awareness, opportunity, power, and means to end slavery. Thus we pledge to work together in our lifetime to free the enslaved and restore the future of the trafficked,” said Treñas in his commitment signed for the World Day Against Human Trafficking, which also promotes the "Blue Heart" Campaign.
The campaign, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "is a global awareness-raising initiative to fight human trafficking and its impact on society".
“We encourage everyone to wear blue or wear blue-mask (on Thursday) to show support and to stop human trafficking, especially in this city,” said Ann Rapunzel Ganzon Tendencia, focal person for Anti-Human Trafficking of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), in a separate interview.
"Blue heart represents the sadness of being a victim at the same time the coldness of people having the heart to sell human beings. So we wear blue to signify our empathy and sympathy to the victims of trafficking," she added.
She said amid the battle against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, it is not only the economic and social aspects that are affected but their consequences may “provide a fertile ground for human traffickers to prey on the most vulnerable sectors”.
Among the forms of trafficking are child labor, slavery, prostitution, and pornography.
“The most common now and timely with the pandemic is online sexual exploitation and abuse of children,” she said, adding that it is easier for traffickers to prey on victims because everyone is focused on gadgets.
“We encourage the reporting of everybody, we encourage the support of Ilonggos,” she said.
At the CSWDO crisis intervention unit, she said that among the cases that they have rescued are prostituted girls with incidents happening in coastal areas and online. Their ages range from 13 to 16 years old.
Meanwhile, training for officials of 20 pilot barangays will be conducted on Tuesday to focus on human trafficking laws. The training will equip people at the grassroots on how to report and handle trafficking cases.
A seminar for motels, inns, and hotel owners and managers will also be conducted to let them know their roles and responsibilities in protecting women and children on the various forms of human trafficking, she added.
The activities are supported by the Iloilo City Council Against Trafficking, Children Protection, Violence Against Women and Children, and the Bidlisiw Foundation, Inc, a newly-accredited nongovernment organization in the city that is focused on helping human trafficking victims and abused and exploited children. (PNA)
