DAVAO CITY July 23 (PIA)- An anti-trafficking in persons desk was finally opened last July 20 at the Davao International Airport. The desk is initiated by the Regional Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking-Integrated Action Network (RIACTION).
According to Regional State Prosecutor Antonio Arrellano, concurrent Regional Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking chair, the establishment of an airport desk is an urgency with Davao City becoming more accessible to air travel being the primary entry and exit point of the region.
The desk will be manned by the Airport Security Group, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine and the Regional Public Safety Battalion. It is aimed as mechanism of integration and coordination between member agencies of the RIACAT.
The RIACTION is the implementing arm of the RIACAT which is composed of various heads of offices included under the anti-trafficking council. Arellano said that RIACTION was established as he noticed that RIACAT consisted of heads-of-offices and needed the players to do the work.
Under the RIACTION there are designated people for the prevention of trafficking, prosecution of the respondents, and protection of the victims. The RIACTION-DIA is the first tangible operating unit of the network.
The launching ceremony was graced by the presence of City Mayor Sara Duterte who expressed full support to the initiatives of the RIACTION. She also expressed the possibility of opening a similar anti-trafficking person’s desk in the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal.
During the event, Arellano cited the strides in the fight against Trafficking in Persons. From 2003 to 2010 there were only three convictions in TIP cases.
Arellano attributes the failures to lack of case and witnesses management and poor coordination between government agencies.
He said that the fight against anti-trafficking doesn’t just end after rescue but would also involve the successful prosecution of traffickers. Arellano said that in previous cases they could no longer locate the witnesses or the victim themselves.
With the establishment of RIACTION, they were able to convict two traffickers in 2011. There were also 16 cases filed in courts, with case build-ups undertaken by RIACTION members.
By June 2012, the network has rescued and intercepted 111 trafficking victims. About 94 victims were rescued in Davao City.
During the airport launch, the RIACTION also expanded their members with the inclusion of the Philippine Information Agency as one of its partners. (PIA/RG Alama)
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