58 trafficking cases filed in court yields 6 convictions

A total of 58 trafficking cases in Region XI have been filed in court since Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking Law was enacted in 2003 and it has yielded only six convictions.

“A total of 13 trafficking cases have been dismissed because the victim has desisted and is no longer interested in pursuing the case,” Assistant Regional Prosecutor Barbara Mae Flores said during yesterday’s Club 888 held at Marco Polo Hotel.

She said trafficking means to exploit, transport, recruit, hire or harbor the victim using threat and force or take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability. The purpose of trafficking is for sexual exploitation, forced labor or sale of human organs, she added.

Said 12 of these cases have been archived which usually happens when the accused has not been arrested, while 26 are still active or pending in court. One suspect was acquitted from the trafficking case, she added, although convicted in a child prostitution case.

Department of Social Welfare and Development Social Welfare Officer Pedrita Dimakiling said they have served 129 trafficking cases at their office but not all of them prospered.  Most cases do not proceed to prosecution, she added, because the victim-survivor tends to prioritize the other needs of the family.

However, she said, DSWD provides for the victim’s rehabilitation and reintegration in case the local government could not provide for these requirements.

Flores said the victim or witness in a trafficking case can always seek for protection under the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice (DOJ) if they are harassed or threatened. She said there are more or less six victims who are enjoying protection under the program.

Dimakiling said that while the anti-trafficking law has been enacted in 2003, it only became more defined in 2011 after the formation of the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking or IACAT network which further resulted to the formation of three units.

Among these, she said, are the law enforcement unit chaired by the DOJ, the psycho-social unit chaired by DSWD and the Advocacy Council chaired by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Flores said IACAT has to rely on tips when it comes to trafficking cases. However, she added, they cannot go to the area where trafficking is being committed unless they receive a verified report about the crime.

“We hope we can intensify the law enforcement unit so we do not have to wait for the tips to act on trafficking violations,” she said.

Business good alternative to employment-Davao Chamber

The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) is encouraging new graduates and job seekers to consider business as a good alternative to employment.

“Many Dabawenyos are not very much aware of the opportunities of small businesses and this is something which they should seriously consider,” DCCCII President Architect Daniel Lim said during the opening of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Week at Abreeza Mall Monday.

The MSME Week will be an ideal venue for small and medium entrepreneurs to showcase their products. More importantly, he said, it will also provide them with additional entrepreneurship knowledge in the areas of Business Management, Franchising and Marketing among others through the series of seminars that will be held in different venues throughout the week.

Lim said being and entrepreneur means being able to have full control of your time and your own future. He said food remains a good prospect for future entrepreneurs as there is always demand.

“Budding entrepreneurs can also look at the possibility of events organizing and franchising,” he said. With franchising, he said, everything is provided and already comes with the complete package, you only have to follow the procedures.

He said the Chamber has 300 to 400 members, many of which are members of associations. We have many members who are small and medium entrepreneurs, he added.

Since the Chamber is promoting franchising as the easiest way to get into business, they invited AFFI Mindanao Chapter Director Voltaire Magpayo to speak on “Franchising As a Business Venture: Success and Pitfalls” yesterday. They also had presentations from Pork’s Best President and CEO Alice del Mundo and King Siomai owner Billy Guevarra.

SEATCA cites Davao as model smoke-free city

The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) gave a plaque of appreciation to Davao City not only for its anti-smoking policy but also for the efficient implementation of such policy during the two-day Regional Workshop on Smoke-Free Laws which opened at the SM Convention Center in Lanang Monday.

SEATCA is an alliance of various sectors coming from ten Asian countries that aims to help the member-countries fast track and establish tobacco control policies.

“We have an eight-country (Asian) delegate to this Workshop hoping to learn from Davao City’s successful implementation of its smoke-free city campaign for many years,” SEATCA director Bungon Ritthiphakdee said in an interview. Other cities have good laws and policies on smoking control but the problem is the implementation, she added.

She said the different countries have different regulations when it comes to controlling smoking. Others follow the national law which they implement in the local or city level, she said, and this is where the problem starts in implementing it at the city level.

“What Davao can share to the other countries is its 100 percent implementation of smoke-free public places,” she said. Asian countries also implement the smoke-free policy in hospitals, schools and workplace, she said, but the challenge is how to implement it in the restaurants, nightclubs and outdoor public places.

The Asian countries can learn from Davao’s mechanisms, legislative measures, manpower, political will and how media supported the smoke-free policy.

“Even in Thailand we have a strong tobacco-control law but the problem is how to enforce it in restaurants and nightclubs,” she said. Even the policemen in charge of implementing the law do not have a good standard of practice, she said.

Ritthiphakdee said Davao will be a very good model and leader for the smoke-free cities campaign. The key issue here, she said, is that Davao started the smoke-free city campaign a long time ago but the compliance and enforcement are still there even up to now.

In other Asian cities, she added, the campaign is no longer enforced after two or three years. But in Davao, she said, it is being enforced year after year and we are amazed at the commitment of the business owners, public officers and the citizens.

Davao City to complete installation of 8 water monitoring equipment this July

Davao City is set to complete by this month the installation of eight water measurement equipment which was provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as part of Project Noah.

Through Project Noah, DOST aims to make use of technology to improve the country’s disaster risk reduction activities and responses.

“We have received the warning devices last May but we are still waiting for financing for the construction of fences for the equipment,” Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Chief Pepito Capili said during yesterday’s Kapihan held at Abreeza Mall.

Capili said DOST wants to ensure the safety of the equipment considering that monitoring equipment installed in Barangay Suawan last 2010 was stolen two months after its installation. Part of the agreement was for the local government to pay for the fencing.

Among the equipment awaiting installation are six water level monitoring equipment to be installed along the Suawan River, Tamugan, Davao River, Pangi Bridge, Mintal Bridge, Wangan Bridge and Wangan Bridge. Also included are two rain gauges to be installed in Biao which contributes to the Pangi Water System and Baguio Proper.

He said that each of the six areas require P20,000 for fencing. The local government support fund, he said, will provide the estimated P120,000 required to construct the fences which will secure the water measurement equipment.

“The water monitoring equipment are automated but we will still need manual monitoring which is being provided by field personnel and even people from the barangays,” he said. The city is still negotiating the provision of eight weather monitoring stations with DOST and some more equipment to be financed by the League of Cities of the Philippines.

Capili said they could not ascertain the total amount of the water monitoring equipment as these were provided by the DOST. However, he said, the local government support fund will contribute around P800,000 for the city’s disaster preparedness project.

Top 10 Dabawenyo bowlers get chance to join SM Bowling Cup

Up to 10 top bowlers from Davao City will be given a chance to fly to Manila sometime this year for the SM Bowling Cup Finals.

“Players with minimum scores of 190 up will be considered as qualifiers for the SM Bowling Cup,” SM Lanang Premier marketing officer Jose Marlou Young said.

He said the SM Bowling Cup is a yearly bowling tournament that gives away brand new cars and cash prizes to the winners.

Young said three Chevrolet cars are up for grabs during the SM Bowling Cup Finals. Those who qualify in the Davao leg, he added, will have to travel to Manila for the finals.

The SM Bowling Center in Lanang, which opened last May, is the first in Mindanao. Young said the bowling center is the sixth of seven branches all over the Philippines. The latest branch is in SM Southmall.

“We are promoting the SM Bowling Center as a hub that is perfect for families and friends,” he said. The Davao branch has 16 bowling lanes, four billiard tables, four KTV rooms and PS3 for gamers.

PNP Davao fired up by Mayor’s speech but needs more equipment to bolster Davao PNP’s efficiency

The Philippine National Police in Davao City got fired up with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration that he will intensify the campaign against drug pushers and perpetrators of heinous crimes in the city but the police force can improve its efficiency with additional firearms and equipment.

“The Mayor’s statement during his oath taking has given lots of encouragement to the police to perform our jobs well considering that the chief executive is very supportive,” Davao PNP Director PS Supt. Ronald dela Rosa said during Monday’s Kapihan held at SM Annex.

However, he said, PNP Davao’s operations would be more efficient and effective given more resources for moving, shooting and communication. The PNP’s movement would be enhanced if we have more patrol cars, he said.

Dela Rosa said that at present, each PNP station has one to three units. However, the urban stations including Stations 1,2,3,4, and 5 would be more effective with up to six patrol cars. The outlying stations can make do with up to three patrol cars, he said, but wished that the stations in Paquibato, Baguio, Marilog and Toril will be equipped with 4x4 vehicles since most of the areas here have a rough terrain.

He said the existing patrol cars of the city are more than ten years old but are thriving because of good maintenance. They also need radios to bolster PNP Davao’s communication system, he added.

The SWAT needs additional equipment like tear gas and tactical lights. He said they also need stun grenade and long firearms that can cost up to P20 million. He said they are thankful because they are about to receive Glock 17 pistols from Camp Crame. He said Crame prioritized Davao City for the new generation pistols maybe because they saw na “maganda ang performance ng PNP.”

Dela Rosa said there is also a need for more training to enhance the skills of the police so that it will be at par with the PNP standards when it comes to speed and accuracy.

DTI to conduct roving academy for SMEs

Aspiring Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Davao Region can increase the chances of setting up their own businesses through the SME Roving Academy.

“The SME Roving Academy is a machinery for information, communication and knowledge creation of Philippine SMES which aims to guide existing or aspiring entrepreneurs establish their own business or sustain existing ones,” Romeo Castañaga of the Department of Trade and Industry said during Monday’s Kapihan held at SM City Annex.

Castañaga said that with the launching of the SME Roving Academy during the 1^st Philippine Investment Conference (I-Con) in Davao City last June, entrepreneurs can expect a package of interventions to help them start or sustain their businesses.

While the Conference aimed to showcase the investment opportunities in the country, it also aimed to steer interest towards the cluster based industrial development strategy to fasttrack countryside growth and development. He said they targeted 600 participants to the Conference, but achieved a 200% attendance with 1,050 participants during the two-day Conference.

He said the package of interventions will include the startup support to help the would-be entrepreneur to choose the appropriate business given his interest, skills and resources. If the entrepreneurs has decided to push through with the business then we will provide registration support, he added.

Also included in the package of interventions for the SMEs are product development, skills training, management and marketing training, entrepreneurship training and financing. The support will extend to helping the entrepreneur maintain or sustain the business or even go into export, he added.

Castañaga said the SME Roving Academy in Davao City will be conducted initially for free in time for the SME Week this July.