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After executions of drug mules, Robredo orders LGUs to weed out illegal recruiters


Hours after the execution of three Filipino drug couriers in China, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo on Wednesday directed all local governments to weed out illegal recruiters in their areas. In a department directive, Robredo also ordered local chief executives to identify illegal recruiters in their localities, revoke their business permits, then file appropriate charges against them. “Kailangan ng suporta ng mga local government units sa malawakang kampanya ng pamahalaan laban sa illegal recruitment dahil marami pa rin sa ating mga kaawa-awang kababayan ang nabibiktima ng mga tusong illegal recruiters," he said in a statement. Robredo required governors as well as city and municipal mayors to submit to the National Police Commission (Napolcom), of which Robredo is concurrent chairman, periodic progress reports about their campaigns against illegal recruitment and human trafficking. Robredo also called on the Philippine National Police, which is under the DILG, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to help in the local governments' anti-human trafficking campaign. Robredo warned local officials that they would face charges of gross negligence or dereliction of duty if they fail to comply with his directive. Execution of Pinoy drug mules Convicted "drug mules" Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Ramon Credo, and Elizabeth Batain were all executed by lethal injection around Wednesday noon in China. Separately arrested in 2008, the three were convicted for each smuggling between 4,000 and 6,800 grams of heroin either in Xiamen and Shenzen. The three Filipinos were originally scheduled to be executed last February 20 and 21. The executions were put on hold following the humanitarian visit to Beijing of Binay, who is also the presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns. The Supreme People’s Court of China affirmed the death sentences on the three last February 11. Binay went to Beijing upon orders from President Benigno Aquino III on Feb. 18. The families of the three convicted individuals insisted their loved ones were mere victims of drug syndicates recruiting Filipinos to travel to China without their knowledge that they are carrying illegal drugs in their baggage. Human trafficking victims Last week, local authorities in Zamboanga foiled an attempt to sneak 82 women from Visayas and Mindanao into neighboring Malaysia. An investigation on the incident showed a syndicate was behind the trafficking of the women, who left without any travel documents and were supposed to work as domestic helpers of sex workers. The latest available data from the DILG in 2009 showed that a total of 74 people have been arrested for illegal recrutiment and six establishments have been shut down. In the same year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) handled 1,610 cases of illegal recruitment filed by 469 complainants. – VVP, GMA News

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