Vice President Jejomar Binay is planning to talk to Chief Justice Renato Corona to make sure charges are filed against recruiters of overseas Filipino workers who are apprehended and offloaded.
Binay disclosed the plan as he convened the Presidential Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment (PFTAIR) at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for its first official meeting Monday.
“The offloaded OFWs are sent back to their respective provinces, but we seldom see cases filed against their recruiters... We must always have ready evidence for the prosecution to present in court to ensure that these illegal recruiters are convicted," Binay said in a news release posted on the OVP website.
President Benigno Aquino III reactivated the PFTAIR when he issued Executive Order No. 41 last April 29 to strengthen government’s campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
Binay, as the Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ Concerns, is the task force chairman.
The Vice President is also Chairman Emeritus of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the government body mandated by law to coordinate and monitor the implementation of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
He also discussed aligning the PTFAIR’s Operations Center with the IACAT, as well as the formation of the PTFAIR’s executive committee.
Present at Monday's meeting were Justice Secretary Leila de Lima as PTFAIR vice chair along with Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Magtanggol Gatdula, and Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) head Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr.
The NBI and the PNP-CIDG serve as the operational and law enforcement arms of the PTFAIR.
Also present at the meeting were Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis.
Meanwhile, Binay ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency to provide a list of expenditures based on the PTFAIR’s original two-year run as basis for the task force’s budget plan.
The PTFAIR’s budget comes from the budget of all member-agencies, although the President may also allocate additional funds for the PTFAIR using his discretionary funds under the national budget.
The Task Force is set to reconvene on June 20, with regular meetings to be held every third Monday of the month. — MRT/VS,