Child rights advocacy work must go on
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By: Father Shay Cullen
Convicted child rapist and former member of the Philippine congress Romeo Jalosjos is pulling every diplomatic string he can to win a "conditional pardon" from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Using his contacts in congress and his vast financial resources his supporters in congress are threatening to block the passage of urgent bills unless the pardon is granted. The president is considering granting the request for political reasons.
Jalosjos was convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl in 1997 a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court. The child was brought to him by a pimp in his luxury condominium apartment in Manila, 1997, where he sexual abused her. He was sentenced to life in prison. Not that he is suffering much other than heart disease brought on by a lazy life style and over eating unhealthy food. Allegedly he has an air conditioned cell equipped with a double bed, refrigerator television, shower room, and all the devices of a luxury apartment.
The reason he gives for a conditional pardon is he has a lingering heart condition, like thousands of other prisoners but who have no money or political connections. So will the President also give a pardon to the thousands of children suffering behind bars who have never been convicted of any crime?
This well illustrates the inequality and special treatment that the privileged elite have in this country of 85 million people, the majority of them poor. The privileges follow them to their cells.
It was an extraordinary event when he was put on trial and even more astonishing when convicted. It was the public outcry that brought him to trial in the first place. The common practice of making a pay off to the parents of the victim, the police and prosecutor didn't work this time as angry bands of children rights advocates took to the streets with placards and streamers demanding justice.
It was public outcry that brought him to trial in the first place. The common practice of making a pay off the parents of the victim the police and prosecutor did not work this time as angry band of child advocates took to the streets with placards and streamers demanding justice.
There are an estimated 100,000 children exploited in the sex industry in the Philippines and government policy in the past six years has veered away from prosecuting foreign tourists to ignoring or dismissing children's complaints of rape and abuse against foreign sex tourists. It is only the Non government Organisations (NGOs) that are trying to get justice for children.
Last November, a unusual study found that family and relatives are recruiting children for the prostitution industry. The study by End Child Prostitution Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) found that the recruiters claimed that they were helping the children. The price paid by the brothels and sex club per child delivered is about 70 Euros. Recruiters tell the children they will work as domestic helpers. When they are recruited and trained to be prostitutes, often with the use of pornographic videos, the young teenagers say they do it to help their families. In reality they spend most of the money on themselves and their friends, taking drugs and alcohol and buying clothes and cell phones.
The non-prosecution of sex tourists seemed to be a practice based on the belief that prosecuting the sex tourists only gave the Philippines a negative image and scared away tourists.
Young fourteen-year-old girls living with 70 year old foreign men of all nationalities as sex comfort girls is so common that the government officials wonder what all the fuss is about. "They are getting paid, right? So what's the problem?" One local official asked. It's a pervading attitude these days and the public outcry against the likes of Romeo Jalosjos has long faded from public consciousness -until this week when the possibility of a pardon was announced.
The disastrous Tsunami in South East Asian wiped out thousands of resorts and thousands of tourists will likely flock to the Philippines which was spared the devastation. However there are fears that many more sex tourists will make their way here too.
The work of public awareness building and child advocacy has to go on until the conscience of the nation is stirred and foreign governments will demand improvements in the protection of children from trafficking before giving economic development money. [End]
