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Intl bodies to recognize Pinay for anti-trafficking fight


Visayan Forum president Cecil Oebanda will fly to Sweden in April then to Switzerland in June to receive awards from two separate bodies for her anti-trafficking crusade in the Philippines. The Sweden-based World Children’s Prize Foundation will award Oebanda this April for her two-decade fight against child labor and trafficking, and her support for women embroiled in sex slavery. To be awarded as finalists along with Oebanda are a children’s rights advocate from Bangladesh and another from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children from around the world will also cast their ballots to select their bets from among the three. Sponsored by Queen Silvia of Sweden and former South African president Nelson Mandela, the World Children’s Prize will also award the grand winner with $100,000 or around P4.36 million for his or her advocacies. Oebanda, who founded the anti-trafficking group Visayan Forum in 1991, “herself was only five when she started working, and she has made it her life’s work to fight for the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable children," the award-giving body wrote in its citation. “Cecilia has influenced legislation in the Philippines and the wider world to bring about better protection for children. Despite constant death threats, she doesn’t give up," the World Children’s Prize Foundation added. Two months later, Caritas Switzerland will hand to Oebanda the Prix Caritas Award also for her work against child prostitution, child trafficking, and child labor. “In addition, the success and appeal of the Visayan Forum under the difficult conditions of the Philippines [are] impressive," officials of the Swiss charity organization said in their letter to Oebanda. Caritas Switzerland will also award her with 10,000 Swiss francs, or around P470,000, to benefit one of her projects. Child trafficking in the spotlight Oebanda, who expressed her initial disbelief, told GMA News Online that the awards mean much more than personal recognition. “This is a really good opportunity to highlight the trafficking of children here in the Philippines," she said. In particular, Oebanda said she hopes to highlight cases of forced labor — on top of the usual sex-related cases in the Philippines. Her group, the Visayan Forum, had pursued a case that resulted in a conviction this month — the first conviction on labor trafficking in the Philippines. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, in another interview with GMA News Online, praised Oebanda for helping the government in its anti-trafficking crusade. Oebanda’s friend even before she entered the government, Soliman said the anti-trafficking crusader has also been “very cheerful," choosing to keep a level of “stubborn optimism" in the face of difficulties. Oebanda hopes the Philippines will fare better in the US State Department’s next human trafficking report in June, after the US put the country in its Tier 2 watch list in 2010 — the second poorest rank. The report said the Philippines — plagued by an inefficient judicial system and endemic corruption — also lacks “a method to fast-track trafficking cases." Oebanda has lauded the Aquino administration for its “political will" in doubling the number of human trafficking convictions in its eight months in office. – MRT/VS, GMA News

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