“This partnership with USAID is not merely anchored on the similarity of our programs. We share the noble goal and common desire to end this massive humanitarian challenge in human trafficking,” IACAT Region 2 Chairperson Rommel Baligod said at the signing of the memorandum of agreement between IACAT Region 2 and PDAP at the Department of Justice Region 2 office in Tuguegarao City on January 16. “With this partnership that we forged with PDAP and USAID, it is our greatest hope that we will see significant strides in our campaign against human trafficking.”

“The United States and the Philippines share a firm commitment to end trafficking in persons.  Through this partnership, we will strengthen local systems to protect individuals vulnerable to trafficking and promote the long-term safety of communities across the Cagayan Valley region,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks.

Under the partnership, USAID, IACAT Region 2, and PDAP will combat trafficking in persons by creating public advocacy campaigns to reach vulnerable populations, training frontline workers to improve their responsiveness, strengthening anti-trafficking efforts in schools and local communities, and assisting in the development and amendment of local ordinances to protect trafficking victims.

In 2019, USAID launched the eight-year, ₱364 million ($6.5 million) Strengthening Local Systems and Partnerships for a More Effective and Sustainable Counter-Trafficking in Persons (Strength CTIP) Program with PDAP.  Under this program, USAID and PDAP are working together to end trafficking in persons, protect survivors, prosecute perpetrators, and foster multi-sector collaboration aligned with the recommendations of the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report and the Philippine government’s National Strategic Action Plan Against TIP. 

“The forms and challenges of human trafficking have changed dramatically.  PDAP will equip the region with effective community-based tools and models that our partners in nine other regions have used in countering trafficking in persons,” said Strength CTIP Chief of Party Eugenio Gonzales.

For more information about USAID’s efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, visit www.usaid.gov/trafficking.

Susan Ople, a former labor undersecretary and head of the Ople Center, said that the conviction of the Malaysian employers of an OFW named “Honey”* is a major milestone in the country’s fight against trafficking. 

Ople disclosed that “Honey” became a victim of abuse in 2017 when her Malaysian employers would vent their anger towards her through physical beatings and verbal abuse. 

“It was a succession of vicious physical and verbal abuse. They starved her, beat her up, and scalded her, and brought her by the side of the road when they thought she might end up dying inside their household. With the help of the Philippine Embassy and the Malaysian Royal Police, her employers were charged with human trafficking and were finally sentenced to jail by the court,” Ople said.

According to “Honey”, her female employer ironed the back of her hand and also inflicted several knife cuts along her arms. The husband, after a quarrel with his spouse, stormed out of the bedroom and hit her in the face, leading to a deep cut underneath her eye.

One day, after accusing “Honey” of stealing, the female employer went into the kitchen where the domestic worker was, heated a frying pan, and when the cooking oil was boiling hot, poured the hot oil on her domestic worker. 

“Honey” pursued the human trafficking case, staying in a safehouse provided by the Malaysian police, with assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment through the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration. The Ople Center and OWWA made arrangements for the parents of “Honey” to visit her in Kuala Lumpur to provide much needed moral support to their traumatized daughter.

Last September 30, the Malaysian court handed Norazni binti Razali, the female employer, a jail sentence of 12 years imprisonment while the husband, Mohammad Bin Afzan, received a jail term of 10 years. The court also awarded the exploited OFW compensation amounting to RM 20,000 (PhP 233,000).  

“I am happy that I got justice. I stayed positive and really prayed hard. I am more driven and positive now,” she said, upon receiving the good news from the Philippine Embassy. 

She said she almost lost hope when she learned that the court allowed the Malaysian couple to post bail but was barred from leaving the country. After attending several hearings, “Honey” headed home in 2018 and has since been working for the Ople Center as administrative staff. 

The OFW cited the joint efforts of the DFA-OUMWA, DOLE, OWWA Administrator Hans Cacdac, Labor Attache Elizabeth Estrada, Philippine Ambassador to Kuala Lumpur Charles Jose, and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for the assistance she has received over the span of three years. She also expressed her gratitude to the Villar SIPAG Foundation led by Senator Cynthia Villar for the livelihood assistance that her family received.

As for future plans, the OFW said she wants to devote her time to helping other distressed OFWs through the Ople Center. “I am now more at peace with myself, and quite proud that I never gave up the battle for justice. By sharing my story, I hope other victims of abuse from abroad can also find the strength to fight for their rights to get the justice that they deserve.”

*Honey is a pseudonym chosen by the victim-survivor for her security and protection.