Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
M
erle was only 17 years old when she was brought
to a brothel in Manila that catered to Japanese
customers. She was able to escape, but only last
December, she saw the same recruiter who got her recruiting
young women again.
The exploitation of women has become even more varied
with the progress of technology. Nimia was offered the job of
chatting on the Internet with men. Later, she realized the job
entailed doing very demanding sexual tricks as a cyber sex
model as requested by her online clients.
Those who traffic women abroad have connections in the
Immigration departments of our airports, so that even minors
like Gladys, who was 16 when she was tricked into working as
a prostitute in Malaysia, was able to pass inspection without
any problem.
These are some of the issues and obstacles faced by VAWC and trafficking survivors, and many
stakeholders are earnest about addressing them. The city government of Olongapo, for its part, has
drafted and passed ordinances, resolutions and executive orders to support R.A. 9262 and R.A. 9208.
Institutional mechanisms have been set up to implement these laws. But women and children who
suffer violence within the home, and exploitation and abuse outside, sometimes do not get the aid
and justice they are seeking. It is the intent of this research report to find out why.
Copyright © 2010
All rights reserved — WeDpro, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, from
the publisher.
Published by the Women’s Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WeDpro),
Inc. through the Project “Private and Public Faces of Violence Against Women: Addressing Domestic
Violence and Trafficking in the Urban Poor Communities and Entertainment Centers of Angeles City and
Olongapo City” (“The Red AVP”)
A project funded by
The European Union
In cooperation with:
Buklod Center, Inc.
Nagkakaisang Kababaihan ng Angeles, Inc.
Local Government Units of the Cities of Angeles and Olongapo
Barangays Amsic and Malabanias (Angeles)
Barangays Gordon Heights and West Bajac-bajac (Olongapo)
Aida Santos-Maranan
Project Manager, “The Red AVP”
Chairperson of the Board of Directors, WeDpro, Inc.
100
80
videoke/karaoke/music lounges
bars/cocktail lounges
60
spa/massage parlors
night clubs
40
20
0
2005 2006 2007 2008
Number of Registered Entertainment Centers in Olongapo City
Graph 2. Number of Registered Entertainment Centers in Olongapo City
70
60
50
20
10
0
2007 2008 2009
Methodology
Three data collection techniques were used: 1) collection of secondary materials, 2) key informant
interviews (KIIs), and 3) focus group discussions (FGDs).
Limitations
There were only two barangays under study: Bgy. Malabanias and Bgy. Amsic. These barangays were
chosen in consultation with the local women’s organization NAGKA, which is the partner of WEDPRO
in Angeles City.
In the course of the research, two factors hindered the full achievement of the objective, namely,
time limitations and data gaps.
Time Limitations
The Research Team had to interview at least 30 key informants from November 2009 to January 2010;
the schedule was too tight to complete the interviews given the unavailability of key informants
during the Christmas break. The Christmas break lessened the number of days for the interviews.
There were 40 key informants. NAGKA with the assistance of the barangay officials identified the
key informants. The Research Team experienced some difficulty in getting appointments for these
interviews.
Data Gaps
When the Research Team was reviewing the cases filed at the Angeles Family Court, they noticed
that there were more violations of R.A. 7610—the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation
and Discrimination Act—than R.A.s 9262 and 9208.
At the time of the writing, the CSWDO did not have consolidated data on the prevalence statistics
of VAW. However, the CSWDO and WCPD informed the body during the Validation Workshop that
starting April 2010, the barangays, WCPD, CSWDO and Family Courts will be using an intake/update
card for each victim-survivor as suggested by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW).
Further, the DSWD is mandated to consolidate the data coming from the different service and
law enforcement agencies, including the barangays and the Family Courts. It is expected that more
accurate prevalence statistics on VAW will be available by then.
Given the above situation, the research refocused its objective and centered on assessing the
current reality of trafficking and VAWC in Angeles City and in identifying the barriers to their
effective intervention.
Secondary Materials
Police blotters
• VAWC complaints registered in Bgy. Gordon Heights from 2004-2009 (please refer to Annex 3)
• VAWC complaints registered in Bgy. West Bajac-bajac from 2004-2009 (please refer to Annex 5)
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
• VAWC cases from Bgy. Gordon Heights reported to the DILG in their Compliance Monitoring
Form, from 2006-2008 (please refer to Annex 4)
• VAWC cases from Bgy. West Bajac-bajac reported to the DILG in their VAWC Implementation
Report (please refer to Annex 6)
Olongapo City Police Office
• Detailed Report on Crimes Against Women 2004-2009 (please refer to Annex 7)
People’s Recovery Empowerment Development Assistance (PREDA) Foundation
• Cases of violations of R.A.s 9208 and 9262 (please refer to Annex 8)
Family Court Branch 73
• Statistics and status of VAWC cases filed from 2004-2009 (please refer to Annexes 9-12b)
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
• Monitoring of cases handled by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team (CIDT) of Zambales
(please refer to Annex 13)
City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO)
• Statistics and Report 2005-2008 (submitted by Olongapo City during its participation in the Search for
Outstanding VAW-Responsive LGU held in 2009)
Barangay profiles
• Bgy. Gordon Heights
• Bgy. West Bajac-bajac
Educational attainment
• Majority of the women reached high school. Few graduated from college.
Family sizes
• Women from Bgy. WBB have a minimum of four children and a maximum of seven children.
• Women from Gordon Heights have four to eight children.
VAWC
• Woman battering was the most common VAWC-related complaint brought to the barangay’s
attention. Other complaints were economic abuse (abandonment and lack of financial support
for the family), verbal abuse (insults, cursing), psychological abuse (distress caused by the man’s
womanizing), and child abuse (please refer to Tables 7-8).
• There were 68 VAWC cases in Bgy. Gordon Heights reported to the DILG from January 2005-
November 2009, roughly 13 cases per year.
• There were 68 barangay protection orders (BPOs) issued, meaning a BPO was issued for every
complaint recorded for that time period. Bgy. Gordon Heights has a system for listing BPOs, and
including those issued from 2004 to January 4, 2010, there were 71 BPOs issued.
• Each complaint is assigned a blotter number and page number to facilitate traceability.
• A total of six BPOs were issued in Bgy. WBB from Sept. 2006-Sept. 2009, but a scan of their logbook
found 16 VAWC cases, so not all of the cases were issued BPOs.
Filing Complaints
VAWC and trafficking are happening in the communities, as can be seen from the data gathered from
official records and from PREDA, an NGO. But the higher number of cases cited by key informants
and FGD participants indicated that the reported cases did not reflect the true extent of VAWC and
trafficking. The reporting of trafficking cases was especially minimal. There seems to be a problem
in reporting such cases. Only six KIs and two FGD participants had knowledge of trafficking cases.
While the issue of trafficking is very real, it is underexposed (please refer to Table 13).
Complaints are recorded in the logbooks, but there is no standard intake form for VAWC cases at
the barangay level. Some cases were illegibly written and vital information could not be read.
There is no consolidated prevalence statistics on VAWC and trafficking cases from 2003-2009.
What the Research Team obtained were separate reports from the two barangays, the police, social
services, Family Court and PREDA.
Processing complaints
It was observed that barangay officials knew the basic processes involved in handling VAWC cases.
They blottered the complaints, investigated them, explained the law and advised the women, issued
BPOs when the complainants applied for them, and referred them to agencies that could assist
them.
Referring cases
For additional assistance, barangay officials referred the victim-survivors mainly to the DSWD. But
there are also other agencies that can assist them: the WCPD (Women and Children Protection Desk)
of the PNP, James Gordon Hospital, BUKLOD and Consuelo Foundation. The business community was
also approached to give women jobs.
However, there were instances when barangay officials encouraged the settling of cases. These
agreements, called “kasunduan,” were signed by the parties involved and were recorded in the
logbooks.
Following up cases
At Bgy. WBB, the Barangay Peace and Safety Officer (BPSO) followed up cases through home visits, or
the purok (barrio) leaders did the follow-up and reported to the barangay. At Bgy. Gordon Heights,
the purok leaders did the follow-up and submitted the follow-up notice to the barangay to inform
them that the beatings had stopped.
There is no clear guideline as to whether following up cases is mandatory. It was also not clear
whether this was the task of the BPSO or the purok leaders.
Steps that have helped KIs implement R.A.s 9262 and 9208
• The use of standard forms for the application of Barangay Protection Order (BPO) and Temporary
Protection Order (TPO) to facilitate the process
• CIDG has a Sunday school for 3-to-15-year-olds who are out of school
• Separate blotter book for VAWC cases
• Passage of a resolution formally activating all human rights action centers
• A human rights team well-versed in the laws, such as what the NGOs have, who conduct their
own in-service training
Structural constraints
Three major problems that delay the implementation of R.A.s 9262 and 9208 are those that are related
to: a) the prosecution service; b) social services; and c) law enforcement.
Prosecution service
There is no regular Family Court judge, so the hearing is scheduled only three times a week (Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays) and there is also the lack of prosecutors. Prosecutors are only available
Mondays and Fridays.
Social services
The DSWD’s priority is to return minors to their families. According to KIs, the families usually
convince the minors to withdraw the case and accept settlements, or when the minors are released
by DSWD, they do not appear in court hearings so cases are dismissed.
Law enforcement
According to a KI, bar owners who are caught using minors are able to reopen a few days after a
raid or they simply change the name of the bar and secure a new business permit. This reinforces
the perception that bar owners have connections in the city government. Another key informant
claims that some police officers receive protection money from the establishments, thus directly
perpetuating prostitution.
Political constraints
KIs saw two constraints that were political in nature. One is our political system which changes the
leadership down to the barangay level when there is a change in administration. This affects the
continuity of programs and the people who are trained to handle VAWC cases.
The other constraint is the difficulty of working with politicians who do not welcome proposals
and initiatives from outside groups, more especially from those who are not of their political
party.
Socio-cultural constraints
One of the obstacles cited by service providers and NGOs is the non-cooperation of victim-survivors.
Women repeatedly get beaten, but they do not file cases, or if they do, they withdraw them for
the sake of the children. NGOs and service providers feel there is nothing more they can do when
victims refuse to cooperate despite their inputs and advice.
Nature of violence
Physical abuse
• All five VAWC survivors experienced physical violence which included beating, choking, punching,
being hit with objects, having their arms twisted, and being threatened with a knife.
Economic abuse
• Three survivors said they were not given enough money for their families’ sustenance. One had
to make do on an insufficient allotment to support six children.
Psychological abuse
• The survivors suffered psychological abuse because of their husbands/male partners’ womanizing.
One survivor had nightmares thinking about her husband living with another woman abroad.
• Some of the women were stalked by their ex-husbands or partners and they feared they would
be attacked at any time.
VAWC
Agnes
Agnes is 62 years old and was originally from Surigao. She has seven children but one child passed
away.
She is familiar with bars as she used to work as a food server in a bar in Cebu when she was
still studying. She studied during the day and worked in the bar from 7-10 p.m., managing to earn
enough to support herself as well as send money back to her family in Surigao.
She met her husband in Cebu. He was originally from Nueva Ecija and he brought her there after
they got married, after which they transferred to Olongapo. That was the start of her difficult life.
She had no money, the children were getting sick and her husband was a womanizer and violent. He
would batter and choke her. She had contusions all over her body, including her breasts, and lumps
on her head. She has lost almost all of her teeth from the battering, and she has goiter, which she
thinks is one of the effects of the battering. In addition to the physical abuse, her husband didn’t
give her money for the family’s sustenance.
She shared her problem with a teacher, but the latter simply advised her to “keep the
communication line open.” There was no R.A. 9262 at the time. Her father told her to accept what
was happening in her marriage and obey the wishes of her husband. Her religion had taught her
that once you have committed yourself in marriage you have to stick to it through all its ups and
downs. There was no provision in the marital contract that you can get out of a marriage if you are
not happy with it.
But she believed deep in her heart that her husband had no right to beat her and she looked for
solutions to her predicament. She attended different kinds of training until she met the women
from BUKLOD and she was enlightened about her rights.
One day her husband left her for another woman and disappeared for five years. By then, they
already had seven children, with the youngest only three months old. She asked around for work
and fortunately, the godfather of her youngest child was able to get her a job as a waitress in the bar
where he also worked.
The work started at 6 in the evening. At first, she felt awkward about entertaining customers but
she learned to do it for the sake of her children. She became friends with one foreign customer and
she shared with him the story of her violent marriage and why she decided to work in the bar. They
became close and a relationship developed which lasted for more than a year. When he proposed
marriage, she told him that she would ask her children first, but they rejected the idea of having
their father replaced by a foreigner. Agnes also had doubts about the marriage proposal. She felt her
responsibility to her children was greater than her own happiness. She separated from the man and
stopped working in the bar. She went back to doing odd jobs like washing and ironing clothes and
vending until she found regular employment as a hospital utility person.
In 1990, her husband came back. He approached the children first, going to their school to ask
them to tell their mother that he wanted to come back. Despite his violent streak, his children had
good memories of their father when they were little. He used to carry them around and play with
Marta
Marta is 31 years old and was originally from Samar. She works in a bar to support her two children,
her mother and two siblings.
She experienced violence from her two live-in partners. Her first partner was an extremely
jealous man who suspected her of having an affair. Even when she was pregnant with their first
child, he continued to mistrust her. He was violent during her pregnancy and even when she had
just given birth. His jealousy made her decide to end their relationship.
She thought she would have a better life with her second partner, but she experienced worse
violence. He also battered her when she was pregnant. He would punch her and hit her with anything
he could grab. He would manhandle her and thrash her.
One day he arrived home drunk while she was nursing their baby and began punching her. For
fear that he would hit their daughter, she threw her on the bed. Fortunately, there were a lot of
pillows and the baby was unhurt. She left her partner after he went to sleep and stayed with her
mother. But the next day, he followed her and threatened to kill the baby if she did not return to
their house.
She suffered a worse beating a month after she gave birth to their second child. BUKLOD assisted
her in securing a medico-legal certificate and a BPO and in filing a case. The BPO saved her from
further physical violence, but then he began stalking her. He threatened to kill her if he ever saw her
with another man. Alternately, he would plead with her to withdraw the case for the sake of their
child, and one day she did. She said she would do it but she would not live with him anymore. He
then asked her to visit him so he could see their child. At first she agreed but when he started forcing
himself on her, she rarely visits him anymore.
He threatens to go to the bar and make a scene if she does not visit him. He forces her into the
tricycle he is riding if he sees her walking outside the bar. She wants to reopen her case to stop him
from making her life difficult. Unfortunately, she has no time to go to the police station. She goes to
the bar at 7 in the evening (so she can get some sleep before working) and leaves at 4 in the morning,
doing the marketing on her way home. She gets even less sleep if her children have school activities
she has to attend. She is physically separated from her partner but the violence continues.
Carmen
Carmen is 69 years old. She was originally from Tacloban but has been a resident of Olongapo since
1968. She has three daughters.
She married a drunkard and a womanizer, who started battering her when their eldest was still
a child. She always seemed to have a black eye. The worst battering she experienced was when she
was pregnant with their second child. From the fourth month to her ninth month, she was subjected
to numerous incidences of battering. As a consequence, the child was dead when it came out, with
signs of having been crushed in the womb.
The last battering happened on May 18, 2007. The husband came home to punish her because she
had had the “temerity” to confront his mistress. He tried to attack her with a pipe. Fortunately, she
was able to run outside the house before he could hit her and went to the barangay for help. But the
Divina
Divina is a 28-year-old Amerasian who was born and raised in Olongapo City. She was 19 years old
when the neighbor she was working for as a domestic helper and nanny offered her a job in Japan.
At the time she was in second year college and studying to be a computer technician, but she had no
second thoughts about accepting the job offer. She thought this was a better and faster way to help
her family.
Things happened quickly after that. She signed a contract and was made to learn 20 different
dances because she was supposed to be a cultural dancer. But when she arrived in Japan, she found
out that she was meant to dance topless. She called up her parents, but they did not know what to
do. All she could do was cry. Her co-workers tried to console her, but their ultimate advice was for
her to do what was written in her contract. She realized she had not been meticulous in reading it
because everything had happened in a rush. She felt helpless, but her desire to help her family made
her endure the abuse she experienced there. There were customers who sexually abused her. She
also had problems with co-workers who resented losing some of their customers to her.
Despite the trauma of her first trip, Divina went to Japan two more times. On her first trip, she
had traveled only with the manager. On the second trip, she was with four other girls, and the last
time she went, she applied on her own through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA), because the manager did not get a contract anymore. Each time she went to Japan, she
worked there for six months.
The bar fine was shared 50-50 with the manager. In addition to a regular salary, the dancers got
tips for their performances and commissions from the drinks consumed, as well as food allowance
and free accommodations. On her first stint, she shared a house with three girls and one male. The
second time, there were 24 of them, all Filipinos.
She didn’t file a case against her manager because she knew that a legal process would take a
long time and would eat up her money. She also felt she had no case because she had willingly signed
the contract, although now it was clear to her that she had been tricked into doing topless dancing.
Working in Japan required a lot of guts. One needed to be open and willing to do whatever the
customers wanted. The work was also risky, especially if the customer was a member of the Yakuza,
the organized crime syndicate. If the dancers felt it was too dangerous to go out with a customer, they
Merle
Merle is 27 years old with two children. She had been a working student, going to school by day and
working in a restaurant by night when she was approached by a recruiter with an irrestible offer.
She had been earning 100-200 pesos a day at the restaurant. The recruiter promised her a nightly
income of 3,000-4,000 pesos.
This happened 10 years ago when she was 17 years old. She was brought to a house in Cavite.
It was a big house with 30 rooms, with two girls occupying each room. In the evening, they were
brought to Candy’s Bar on Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, Metro Manila. It was not an open bar. There
were cubicles inside and it catered to Japanese customers.
The women got free board and lodging but received no salary. Merle cried when she discovered
the nature of her work and wanted to go home, but she was not allowed to leave. She was closely
watched, and when she tried to contact an aunt, she got caught and her cell phone was confiscated.
The house was like a detention center, with grills on the windows and a padlock on the door.
One week after she arrived, she became sick and was excused from working. She was left alone
in the house while the rest went to the club. Looking out the back window, she noticed a group of
teenagers playing basketball. She threw them a note asking them to help her escape. In the evening,
after everyone had gone to the club, the boys came and cut the grills and helped her get out. They
gave her 20 pesos for fare and instructed her to ask for the address of a bus terminal in the city.
While riding a jeepney, a fellow passenger noticed that she was crying and asked her what the
matter was. Merle related her story. He accompanied her to the bus station and bought her a ticket
for Olongapo.
She went back to work in her former restaurant. A few days later, the recruiter came and
confronted her. Fortunately, the owner of the restaurant knew her story and sympathized with her.
He warned the recruiter not to come back. But last December 2009, she saw the same recruiter along
Magsaysay Boulevard recruiting young women again.
Merle now has a family of her own and is being supported by her husband who works regularly.
She said it is very tempting to work in bars in Olongapo because there are so many of them and they
Susana
Susana is a 26-year-old single mother with a seven-year old son. She started working abroad as a
bar girl in 2006. Before that she had been working in local bars. She and her fellow recruits were
promised much bigger pay than what they were getting at the local bars plus free board and lodging.
But when they arrived in Hong Kong, they found out that not only did they have to repay their
travel expenses, they had to spend for their own board and lodging. They learned to hide some of
the tickets they got from the drinks offered to them so they could have money to buy food with.
They felt they were being overcharged on food and rent. Even the price of their plane tickets got
tripled. At the end of their first month, they barely had enough money left after the cost of their
plane tickets, and their board and lodging had been deducted by the managers. The managers were
a Filipino couple residing in Hong Kong. They had a big, luxurious house in Las Piñas, Metro Manila.
The trafficked women saw the managers living the good life at their expense.
Learning from her first experience, Susana now goes abroad on her own. She has been to Hong
Kong five times, and also to Singapore and Macau. It’s risky work. Bar girls are closely monitored by
club managers for fear that they will disappear without paying their debts and there’s always the
danger of being deported or barred from entering the country. Tourists are only allowed to stay in
Hong Kong for two weeks. Before the two weeks expire, a bar girl exits to China and then returns
to Hong Kong and she needs to have a plausible reason when she’s asked by Immigration why she’s
coming back. Some of Susana’s friends have been deported because they didn’t have good answers.
They were brought straight to a plane leaving for the Philippines (they called this “A-A,” airport to
airport), and all their things were left behind in their condominiums.
Susana had a better experience in Singapore compared to Hong Kong. Her manager was a Filipina
married to the Chinese bar owner. There were 20 of them living in a condominium. They were allowed
to stay for one month in Singapore and renew it for another month. But if one got caught working
while on a tourist visa, he or she would be banned for life from entering Singapore again. Deportees
were imprisoned for 24 hours and given two to three days to pack their things.
One’s health was also at risk. Susana once had a Korean customer whose genitals had been
enlarged with silicon to the size of a drinking glass. She was lucky not to suffer lacerations. Other
customers made abnormal requests. One enjoyed watching her use a vibrator to reach orgasm. At
least she knew how to negotiate with customers to make them use a condom and she would back out
of any transaction if a customer refused to wear one.
Evelyn
Evelyn is 47 years old. She has four children. The eldest is 23 years old and the youngest is 13.
She started working when she was nine, selling cigarettes, after her father abandoned her and
her two siblings. When she was 14, she worked as a domestic helper.
Her mother had a live-in partner, a drunkard who had his eye on Evelyn. The first times he
attempted to molest her, her mother put a stop to them, but he tried so many times that her mother
later began siding with him, which made Evelyn decide to leave home. But at the two places where
she worked as a domestic helper, she had suffered rape attempts. Fortunately, she was able to escape
from those houses.
Then in 1979 when she was 19 years old, she went to work in Japan. She was supposed to receive
$300, but her manager and promoter, both Filipinos, took off $100. Her first day on the job was
traumatic. Her employer told her that she was to dance naked. She refused because she had signed
on to be a cultural dancer. Her co-workers tried to tell her to do as she was told as she had already
been paid. She didn’t want to, so she was locked in a room. She managed to escape by jumping from
the third floor.
It was the middle of the night and she didn’t know where to go. Luckily, a kind-hearted American
military man saw her and asked her why she was crying. He brought her to his barracks and hid
her there for a week until she could go to her promoter. She wanted to go home, but the promoter
told her that what she could do was to get her reassigned to the U.S. Marines’ station. Evelyn agreed
to do it because she knew that her family was counting on the money she could send them. She felt
fortunate that her manager was very good to her. She treated Evelyn like a daughter and didn’t make
her go back to the club where she would have been compelled to danced naked.
She went back to Japan two more times, but like other Filipinas who have worked abroad, she was
not able to save money. She spent the money as it came as she provided for her family and there was
nobody to advise her on how to manage her earnings. She is now 47 years old and as hard-up as ever.
Her youngest is in first year high school. An older child couldn’t continue on to college because they
could not afford the tuition. Her eldest studied caregiving for six months but has yet to find work.
Evelyn does odd jobs like washing clothes for her neighbors.
For barangays
• To set up anti-VAWC desks staffed with well-trained people, preferably licensed social workers
• To use the standard intake and update card for each victim-survivor as suggested by the
Philippine Commission on Women to facilitate consolidation of VAWC cases
• To improve the documentation, filing and turnover of VAWC files so as to improve the prevalence
statistics of VAWC
• To discontinue the practice of amicable settlements and signing of kasunduan in handling VAWC
cases
• To record cases labeled as “temporary custody/safekeeping” as VAWC cases
• To have the BHRAO included in the barangay budget
• To regularly monitor the barangay to identify new faces/entrants who might be recruiters/
traffickers looking for young women
• To have regular purok meetings and use them as a venue for information dissemination about
the laws
• To financially support volunteers in the barangay, especially those assisting the victims, for such
expenses as transportation, photocopying of documents, filing of cases, etc.
• To conduct monitoring at the barangay level and assess how they are implementing the laws
For LGUs
a. Recommendations related to training:
• Conduct empowerment programs for survivors through education and training, legal literacy,
self-defense, entrepreneurship, etc.
• Address women’s immediate post-trauma needs as well as the long-term goal of financial security
and independence through livelihood programs.
• Conduct value formations/consciousness raising among women to discuss sociocultural beliefs
that constrain women from reporting VAW and/or filing cases in court.
• Address the problem of conducting regular and continuous training for service providers. There
is also a need to improve the quality of training.
• Draw up an effective follow-up program for victim-survivors.
• Use GAD allocations to conduct anti-VAWC campaigns and trainings in the barangays.
• Conduct seminars for both women and men so they know their rights and when these are
violated.
For NGOs
• Organize more women’s organizations to address VAW.
• Train women to become financially independent.
• Conduct more GSTs for men.
For communities
Male Participation
• There is recognition that men’s violence against women will not end without male participation
in efforts to prevent it. It is recommended that gender-conscious men have roles congruent with
current women’s initiatives in the prevention of VAW, and to employ gender-sensitive men in
counseling male perpetrators.
• Support Men Opposed to Violence Against Women Everywhere (MOVE) in its objective to involve
men in addressing VAW in the communities.
Adolescents
• To educate young people on the dangers posed by risky sexual behavior and gender-based
violence on their reproductive health
• To increase consciousness and involvement of the youth in addressing VAWC
Women’s Involvement
• For women’s organizations in different parts of the country to network with each other
• For women’s organizations to link up with government agencies, or with the Women’s Council so
they can be updated on laws, ordinances, resolutions and policies that women can use for their
protection
VAW Advocates
• Get VAWC advocates into positions of decision-making by electing them to barangay, municipal,
city and provincial councils.
For other stakeholders
• Pool their resources to break the trafficking syndicates and design a system or strategy to
counteract traffickers.
• All stakeholders should cooperate in implementing the law.
Mayor James “Bong” Gordon with Project Manager Aida Santos-Maranan and other members
of the Project Steering Committee during the signing of the MoU.
PSC Meeting
Validation Workshop
Overall Findings
VAWC
• VAWC is happening in the communities as can be seen from the statistics gathered from the four
barangays (Bgys. Gordon Heights and West Bajac-bajac in Olongapo City and Bgys. Amsic and
Malabanias in Angeles City), and from the reports of the PNP, CSWDO, NGOs and Family Courts.
• Woman battering is the most common VAWC-related complaint brought to the attention of the
barangays. Other complaints are economic abuse (abandonment and lack of financial support for
the family), verbal abuse (women are insulted, cursed), psychological abuse (women are troubled
by the womanizing of their husbands/partners), sexual abuse (women are forced to give in to the
sexual demands of their husbands/partners), and child abuse.
• Three of the 10 interviewed VAWC survivors were battered while pregnant. One was battered from
her fourth month to her ninth month of pregnancy. The baby was dead when it was delivered.
According to the Women’s Crisis Center (WCC), six out of 10 abused women are battered during
pregnancy. The 2008 survey of the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) shows that
four out of 100 pregnant women experience physical violence.
• Three of the five VAWC survivors from Olongapo said that the perpetrators were their husbands
and two said they were live-in partners. In Angeles, all five perpetrators were live-in partners.
This ties in with the NDHS survey which says that 54.7 percent of VAW perpetrators are the
husbands or male partners, making the home an unsafe place for women and children.
• According to the NDHS survey, only 9.3 percent of battered women go to the police and 6.0
percent go to a social service organization. Of the 10 VAWC survivors interviewed, nine went to
the police when they felt their lives were in danger.
• VAWC incidence in Olongapo using CSWDO data from 2005-2008 was 265 cases or an average of
66 cases per year. In Angeles, it was 83 cases from 2004-2009, an average of just 14 cases per year
(CSWDO data). But key informants and FGD participants talked about cases that had never been
reported. Asian scholars have said that “official statistics on the prevalence of woman battering
are generally lacking; those available would only reflect the tip of the iceberg” (1), and that
seems to be the case in the two cities.
• Women are repeatedly beaten, yet do not file cases in court or withdraw them later for the sake
of the children. One wife urged the court to release her husband so the children wouldn’t lose
their father.
• The non-cooperation of victims adds to the difficulty of helping the women.
• Service providers are also at risk when the perpetrators have ties to the police or military or
have access to firearms. Two service providers have been personally threatened.
• Barangay officials know the mechanics of handling VAWC cases. But some actively encourage
couples to amicably settle their cases.
• The barangays need to improve their documentation, filing and turnover of files to have more
accurate reports on VAWC.
Trafficking
• Statistics on trafficking cases is low due to its underground nature. The highest number of
trafficking cases recorded in Olongapo (2005-2008) per CSWDO record is 25 cases (an average of
six cases per year), while in Angeles, it is 231 cases (2005-2009), an average of 46 cases per year.
Reporting of cases was minimal to none in the barangays under study. Only Bgy. West Bajac-
bajac had two cases in its logbook, one recorded in 2005 and another one in 2007. But KIs and FGD
participants had many stories to tell about trafficking happening in their communities.
• The underreporting of trafficking is due to several factors:
— Stories from trafficked survivors and key informants revealed the involvement of syndicates
running operations. One of the trafficked survivors was a minor but she was able to work in
Malaysia. Traffickers have contacts within the Immigration departments of the airport in
Clark and the airport in Malaysia. Locally, bars which have been raided for using minors or
prostituting women are able to reopen or renew their business permits, indicating that they
have connections in city hall.
— Some barangay and city officials are bar owners themselves.
— Some police can be paid to look the other way.
— The victims often do not know the identities of their recruiters, making it difficult for them
to file a case.
— It is difficult to catch pimps and get evidence of prostitution, so streetwalkers who are picked
up by the police are charged with vagrancy and not classified as trafficking victims.
— When minors refuse to admit that they have been trafficked, the case becomes a prostitution
case and not trafficking.
• The presence of syndicates is an added constraint to helping survivors.
• Syndicated crime is very complicated and needs trained people to address this.
• Of the 11 trafficked survivors interviewed for this report, five landed as bar girls in local bars,
and six were transported abroad—four as bar girls, one as domestic helper, and one as a sewer.
• Another constraint to the resolution of trafficking cases is when the recruiter/trafficker is able
to avoid arrest, hindering the progress of cases filed. This is one of the reasons why some cases
are archived.
• In Olongapo, the number of entertainment establishments that employ women increased from
149 establishments in 2007 to 169 establishments in 2008 and to 203 establishments in 2009 (please
refer to Graph 1 on p. 307). In Angeles, there were 138 establishments in 2005, which increased to
209 in 2006, maintained its number in 2007, and decreased to 122 in 2008.
• The number of workers in these establishments increased from 1,708 workers in 2006, to 1,810
in 2009. But these are only the registered workers. There are unregistered workers such as the
streetwalkers. The logbook of Bgy. West Bajac-bajac recorded a number arrests of streetwalkers.
Most of them were young women.
For LGUs
Recommendations related to information dissemination
• Distribute pamphlets/brochures about the laws to the community.
• Provide information materials like primers, leaflets, etc.
• Use television to inform people about R.A.s 9262 and 9208
For NGOs
• Conduct empowerment programs for women and youth to increase their rights-claiming
capacities.
• Increase community awareness on trafficking and VAWC.
• Increase community participation in the advocacy against trafficking and VAWC.
• Help government set up programs for women.
• Advocate for enhanced GO-NGO-private sector cooperation, dialogue and collaboration.
For communities
Male participation
• There is recognition that men’s VAWC will not end without male participation in the effort to
prevent it. It is recommended to organize gender-conscious men to have roles congruent with
current women’s initiatives in the prevention of VAWC and to employ gender-sensitive men in
counseling male perpetrators.
• Support MOVE in its objective of involving men in addressing VAWC in the communities.
Adolescents
• Young people need to be educated as early as possible on the dangers posed to their reproductive
health by risky sexual behavior and gender-based violence.
• Increase youth consciousness and involvement in addressing VAWC.
• Come up with a program for teenage mothers.
Women’s involvement
• Women’s organizations in the different areas of the country are encouraged to network on the
issues of VAWC and trafficking.
• Women’s organizations can link up with government agencies, or with the Women’s Council so
they can be updated on the laws, ordinances, resolutions and policies that women can use for
their protection and well-being.
Parents
• Conceptualize a program for parents/families on how to deal with incest.
VAWC advocates
• Get VAW advocates into positions of decision-making, by electing them to barangay, municipal,
city and provincial councils.
Additional References:
A Paper prepared by Ms. Eileen Skinnider, Associate, International Center for Reform of Criminal Law and
Criminal Justice Policy, Vancouver, Professor Marcia Kran and Mr. Robert Adamson, Associates and
Professor Ian Townsend-Gault, Director, Center for Asian Legal Studies, Faculties of Law, University
of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. This paper is an annex to the Proceedings of the 1997 Regional
Conference on Trafficking in Women and Children by the Mekong Region Law Center and Office of the
National Commission on Women’s Affairs of Thailand.
WEDPRO’s approved proposal to the European Union. 2009. Private and Public Faces of Violence against
Women: Addressing Domestic Violence and Trafficking in the Urban Poor Communities and “Red Light Districts”
of Angeles City and Olongapo City.
Virola, Romulo. 2010. Violence against Women…At Home! National Statistical Coordination Board.
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/headlines/StatsSpeak/2010/030810_rav_vaw.asp
Human Trafficking Statistics
http://www.dreamcenter.org/new/images/outreach/Rescueproject/stats.pdf
United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Frequently Asked Questions on a Human Rights-Based
Approach to Development.
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FAQen.pdf
a) Bgy. Gordon Vice-mayor, GAD focal person and CSWDO head, 5 VAWC survivors, 5
Heights = 6 councilor for Women and Children, Family Court trafficking survivors
judge, clerk of court, PNP city director, PNP
Women’s Desk officer, CIDG head, BHRAO federation
head, 3 NGO executive directors = 12
b) Bgy. West
Bajac-bajac = 6
Total number of KIs = = 12 service providers/law enforcers/NGOs = 10 VAWC and traf- = 34 key infor-
12 barangay officials ficking survivors mants
Bgy. Gordon Jan 2005 - 17 cases None Jan 2005- Dec 17 BPOs issued
Heights Dec 2006 2006
Compliance
Monitoring Jan-Dec 2007 16 cases Jan-Dec 2007 16 BPOs issued
Form
Jan-Dec 2008 16 cases Jan-Dec 2008 16 BPOs issued
Bgy. West Sept 2006 - 16 cases Nov. 1 case Sept 2006-Sept 1 BPO issued
Bajac-bajac Sept 2009 2007 2009
logbook
Barangay 4th quarter 1 case None 4th quarter 2006 1 BPO issued
VAWC Imple- 2006
mentation
Report 1st quarter 2 cases None 1st quarter 2007 2 BPOs issued
2007
Table 6. Profile of Women from Bgys. West Bajac-bajac and Gordon Heights
Bgy. West Data from service
Bgy. Gordon Heights
Bajac-bajac providers
People involved in handling VAWC cases – People involved in handling VAWC cases –
BHRAO, barangay secretary, barangay captain, kagawads, investigators
investigators, and tanods if complainant
comes after 5 p.m.
Responses as to how they handle cases: Responses as to how they handle cases:
• Investigate – 1 • Investigate – 3
• Blotter the complaint – 4 • Issue BPO – 6
• If official feels she can handle case on her • Counsel the couple – 1
own, she settles the case; if not, she refers • Ask the couple to go to the barangay and
it to BHRAO – 1 have a dialogue – 2
• Invite the perpetrator to barangay office – 2 • Imprison the perpetrator right away if the
• File a case if the perpetrator does not come woman is badly battered – 1
to the barangay – 1 • Assist the victim to secure a medico-legal
• Get couple to dialogue in front of the baran- certificate – 2
gay captain – 1 • If the couple wants to separate, the baran-
• Advise the woman to file a case – 1 gay tries to settle the case – 1
• Explain the law to the couple – 2 • If settlement is not possible, they refer the
• If the woman does not want to file a case couple to DSWD especially if there are
and agrees to an amicable settlement, then children – 1
they sign a kasunduan • Blotter the case – 1
• Make a referral letter to the agencies that • If the woman is badly beaten, the husband
can assist the victim – 2 is asked to go to the barangay or brought
to the police station – 2
• The barangay settles the case – 2
• If the battering is too much, the case is
referred to DSWD – 1
For the victim- • CIDG has Oplan Nena where they file cases for • DSWD handles operation and management of the
survivors VAWC victims and prostituted women. victim’s case
• CIDG has Oplan Sagip Anghel to rescue minors • Hearing of cases in the Family Court
working in bars.
• Orient victim about the process of the law
• Give moral support to victims
• Police assistance for victim, to escort them to
appropriate agencies, assist in filing their cases,
and arrest perpetrators
• Committee on women assists walk-in clients in
getting services from the barangay, or coordi-
nate with DSWD or the legal office; for emer-
gency cases, advises the victim to stay in their
office while they coordinate with the Center for
Women.
For the
perpetrators
For perpetrators
a. Problems related to the complexity • Barangay officials have short a. Problem with beliefs, values and at-
of syndicated crimes like prostitu- terms in office, so the orientations titudes of victim-survivors
tion, trafficking and cyber sex need to be repeated for incoming • It is supposedly in Filipino women’s
• Victims do not know the identity councils. nature to endure suffering and be
of the recruiter, so it is difficult to • There is some difficulty in propos- forgiving because of their Catholic
file a case. ing/initiating programs within a upbringing.
• Pimps are difficult to catch and government institution because • Violence and men’s infidelity are
get evidence from, leading to politicians feel their position is seen by both women and the com-
a trafficking violation being threatened. munity as normal in a relationship.
downgraded to vagrancy. • There is a lack of training and • Women feel they must avoid a
• Victim and customer have to be seminars to build the capacity of broken family at all costs. As a
caught in the act for a prostitu- those assigned to handle cases. consequence:
tion case to be filed. -- women are repeatedly battered
• When minors refuse to admit but can be convinced by hus-
that they were trafficked, it bands or partners to withdraw
becomes a prostitution case and their cases
not trafficking. -- women file cases and later file
• There is resistance from traf- affidavits of desistance without
ficked minors because they do informing the service provid-
not know their rights are being ers and go back to their violent
violated. relationships
• When women perceive prostitu- • They do not report VAW and incest
tion as work, they learn to accept cases for fear of smearing the family
the risks involved as a normal name.
part of the job. • Women are afraid of their hus-
• There is no clear process on bands/partners.
how to deal with trafficking. • Women also withdraw cases be-
• Traffickers are members of a cause they are financially dependent
syndicate, they know how to on their husbands/partners.
disguise themselves, they have • Women would rather seek help from
connections with people in religious leaders rather from proper
government. authorities.
• Trafficked victims do not feel • Women lack knowledge about their
they have protection against rights.
syndicates, and so they do not • Victim-survivors’ low educational
file cases. attainment makes them vulnerable
• Trafficked victims uses aliases. to violence and makes information
• The trafficking issue needs more campaigns doubly harder.
exposure. -- A service provider said majority
• Advocacy/campaign against of those who are given primers or
trafficking does not receive the pamphlets will not read them, and
same attention as the anti-VAWC of those who do, majority will not
campaign. understand them.
9/30/05
11:38 PM
865 Personal na nagsadya sa tanggapan ng Brgy. Public Safety Officer GHOC si XXXXXX F -20 Y/O, residente ng
Pepsi, Filtration, Sta. Rita, O.C. upang maghain ng kaukulang reklamo kay XXXXXXX, M – 44 Y/O, residente ng
XXX Simpson St., Gordon Heights, OC sa usaping pananakit (wife battering/abuse).
Ayon sa may sumbong, 2 taon silang naging mag live-in partner ni XXXX. Dumulong na sa tanggapan ng Gordon
Hts. BPSO noong unang sinaktan ang may sumbong at nagkaroon sila ng kasunduan na kapag sinaktan ulit si
XXXXX ay magsasampa ito ng reklamo. At nito ngang ika – 30 ng Setyembre, 2005 oras humigit kumulang alas
7:00 ng gabi ay muling sinaktan ni XXXX si XXXX.
Pansamantalang ide-detaine sa tanggapan ng Brgy. Hall si XXXXX for safekeeping. Pinayuhan ng BPSO si XXXXX
na magpa medico-legal.
9/25/05
9:41 PM
839 Personal na nagsadya sa tanggapan ng Brgy. Public Safety Officer GHOC si XXXXX, edad 39 Y/O, residente ng XXX
Santol St., Gordon Heights, O.C. upang maghain ng kaukulang reklamo laban sa kanyang asawa na si XXXXX, 43
Y/O, residente ng naturang lugar tungkol sa ginawa umano nitong pambubugbog at pambibintang na may kala-
guyo umano ang maysumbong.
Ayon sa maysumbong, pinagbibintangan sya ng kanyang asawa na may kalaguyo umano ito, naging dahilan ito
upang saktan ng ipinagsusumbong ang maysumbong. Nangyari ito oras humigit-kumulang ng 9:00 PM, petsa
9/25/05. Sa kalsada ng Blk. XXX hanggang sa bahay nila ……
3/17/05
7:53 HRS
309 Mangyaring nagsadya sa himpilan ng BPSO GHOC si Gng. XXXXX, F, 50 y/o, residence in XXXXX, GHOC upang
ireklamo si G. XXXXX m, 30 y/o, residence in XXXXX upper GHOC sa pagbabanta, panggugulo at nais niyang
makipaghiwalay sa kanyang live in partner Mr. XXXX na naganap sa ika 17 ng Marso 2005, more or less 6:00 ng
gabi sa # XXXXXX, GHOC ayon sa salaysay ng maysumbong di umanoy pinapabayaan sila ni G.XXXX na ukol sa
suporta sa pamilya.
Saturday
(no date recorded)
08:35 P.M.
Si Gng. XXXXXX, 35 taong gulang, may asawa at nakatira sa # XXXXX, WBB, OC, ay nagsadya dito sa Brgy. Hall ng WBB OC
upang ipaalam ang ginawang pananakit sa kanya ng kanyang asawa sa loob mismo ng kanilang inuupahang bahay na kung kaya
niya ipinaalam ang nasabing pangyayari ay upang magkaroon siya ng basehan kung sakaling ulitin pa ng kanyang asawa na
saktan siya.
Monday
11-19-07
11:19 A.M.
Nagsadya sa Headquarters ng Brgy. Police ng WBB, O.C. sina XXXXXX may sapat na taong gulang at XXXXXX 29 na taong
gulang at nakatira sa XXXXX WBB, O.C. upang ipagbigay alam ang pangyayaring pagpapakulong naming kay XXXXX may sapat
na taong gulang ng nasabi ding tirahan na asawa ni XXXXXX at apo naman ni XXXXXX sa dahilang si XXXXX ay nagwawala sa
kanila, sinasaktan niya at binugbog ang kanyang asawang si XXXXX, sinira pa niya at binato ang pintuan (3) ng bahay ng kanyang
Lolo; na ito ay nangyari kaninang madaling araw, mga ika -3 ng madaling araw.
Attested by:
(signed) XXXX
Sunday
10-01-08
4:00 P.M.
Log # 447
Si XXXXX, 25 taong gulang ng XXXXX WBB, O.C. ay nagsadya sa Brgy. Hall ng WBB, O.C. upang magbigay alam ang pangya-
yaring panggugulo sa kanila ng kaniyang asawa na si XXXXX may sapat na taong gulang ng XXXXX, WBB, O.C. na ito ay maipa-
blotter ni Gng. Xxxxxx upang maimbita si Mr. XXXXX ng maayos ang problema nilang mag-asawa.
Annex 12b
Statistical Report on TPO and PPO (Jan. 2003-Dec. 2009)
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 73 - Olongapo City
Case Number Nature of Cases Status
Legal separation with Prayer for Writ of
13-0-2003 Preliminary Injunction with Temporary Dismissed Dec. 16, 2009
Restraining Order
Support and Custody with Prayer for Sup-
219-0-2005 Decided March18, 2008
port Pendente and PPO
Acknowledgment as Illegitimate Child under
Pending Trial; court hearing
Art. 175 of the Family Code with Prayer for
355-0-2005 Support and Support Pendente Lite and
Reset to March 3, 2010
Petition
for Protection Order under RA 9262
Application for Issuance of a Protection
410-0-2005 Dismissed
Order
Custody and Support with Prayer for TPO
159-0-2006 Decided Feb. 27, 2009
and Support Pending Litigation
Protection Order with Application for Tem-
82-0-2007 PPO issued July 16, 2007
porary Restraining Order
Declaration of Nullity of Marriage with Ap-
132-0-2007
plication for Issuance of TPO/PPO Dismissed
TPO issued on July 30,
Declaration of Nullity of Marriage with Ap- 2008; pending trial; court
197-0-2008
plication for Issuance of TPO/PPO hearing reset to April 23,
2010