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"They were forced into prostitution by the (Filipino-Malaysian) couple and were physically abused whenever they refused to consent to the sexual abuse of patrons," Legarda said. By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN SEARCH OF A better life for their families, nine Filipino women in Malaysia just went through a nightmare. One of them is 29-year-old Paula Alcantara, who witnessed the plight of eight other Filipino women forced into prostitution in Malaysia. Alcantara. Like her colleagues, she had been swindled by a fellow Filipina and her foreign husband in Malaysia. Alcantara said the eight women were locked inside a condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur and allowed to eat only once a day. At night they were brought to pub houses to work as prostitutes but in the end did not earn a single cent. "Some of them were very young. They would go to me at night to cry. (They said) they were physically abused," Alcantara told the Inquirer. "It is just painful because it was our fellow Filipinos who took advantage of us. They were harsh," she added. Last week, Alcantara and the women escaped from the house and sought the help of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Sen. Loren Legarda helped bring them home by sponsoring their airfare. The women arrived in the country Wednesday night. In a privilege speech at the Senate on Wednesday, Legarda identified the alleged recruiters as Marilyn Gonzales Jabonero and her Malaysian husband Ng Kok Weng. Jabonero also worked with a few other Filipino women married to foreigners in Malaysia. Why they were in KL Alcantara has two children and life was becoming increasingly difficult in the Philippines. Her commission as a product promoter was not sufficient, she said. But when she went from Singapore to Malaysia with a friend two weeks ago to find a job, she was hoodwinked by the recruiters. The recruiters promised her work as a waitress, but to her surprise, she was instead brought to pub houses and had to work there for two nights. Unlike her colleagues, however, she had enough money and did not owe the couple anything. They could not force her to work as a prostitute. The other women in the house were not as fortunate. "They owed the couple money used to process their papers. So they did not have any choice," she said. In her speech, Legarda said the nine women, including Alcantara, were promised to work as waitresses with a salary of P20,000 a week. But as soon as they arrived in Malaysia, the Malaysian employer allegedly took their passports and cell phones and locked them in the condo. The women hail from different provinces, aged between 18 and 24. "They were forced into prostitution by the (Filipino-Malaysian) couple and were physically abused whenever they refused to consent to the sexual abuse of patrons," Legarda said. Alcantara alleged that the Malaysian recruiter also raped one of the women as soon as she arrived. And "they were threatened that if they refused to work, they would be reported to the immigration," she said. The women later found out that they had been given fake passports. Alcantara could not complain either: Her entry pass was also falsified. Legarda said the eight women, several of whom had been in KL for about three months, would be brought to different pub houses at night. If a customer wanted to take them out of the pub house, they could not refuse. "They were given only one meal a day," the senator said. "They did not receive a single cent for all their sufferings because the couple took all the money paid by customers." Those who complained were beaten up. Alcantara saw this and could not do anything. "I was telling them when I arrived that they should run away. But they had no money," Alcantara said. "They were begging me to bring them along if I decide to escape." They saw an opportunity on Dec. 3. The couple had to accompany one of the women to immigration and only one Filipino woman who worked for the couple and was left to monitor them was sleeping. "We went out of the house quietly. We did not even get our things," Alcantara said. "We hailed three taxi cabs because there were nine of us. The other women did not have money so I also used my own money for us," she added. They sought refuge at the Philippine Embassy. Legarda learned of their plight when she went to Malaysia and met with Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Vic Lecaros for her appointment as regional champion of disaster risk reduction for Asia-Pacific by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. "The nine victims of trafficking in persons who may be charged for possessing counterfeit passports and overstaying sought immunity within the walls of the Philippine Embassy," she said in her speech. "I commend our embassy officials in Kuala Lumpur for the immediate relief they extended to the victims." Legarda said that of the more than eight million overseas Filipino workers, 1.62 million are irregular migrants and are suspected to be victims of trafficking or smuggling. Sixty-five percent of these victims are women. The experience has made Alcantara think twice about seeking work abroad again. She was in Malaysia for only two weeks. She had heard stories about Filipino women being abused abroad, but seeing it with her own eyes was much more harrowing. "I am just happy that we are home," she said. At least for these women, a nightmare is over.
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