The capsule-laying ceremony for the new, two-storey halfway house at the North Harbor’s Zaragosa Gate was held this afternoon.
U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney delivered the keynote address. Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), PPA General Manager Atty. Oscar Sevilla, Atty. Severino Gaña, chairman of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and Visayan Forum President Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda also graced the occasion.
Visayan Forum has been running the day-to-day operations of the Port Halfway House or Bahay Silungan sa Daungan, in partnership with the PPA, since its establishment on 11 July 2001.
The halfway house provides 24-hour safety and catchment services such as temporary shelter, help-desk, travel assistance, quick case referrals and legal services, and hotline counseling for victims and potential victims of trafficking. Women and children comprise the majority of these victims who come from far-flung areas in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
In 2005, the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report cited the Bahay Silungan sa Daungan as one of the best international practices in the fight against trafficking.
Due to the program’s success, three more halfway houses were built in the ports of Davao City, Batangas City and Matnog in Sorsogon. Plans are also underway to construct three more similar facilities in Zamboanga City, Iloilo and Lipata.
In the last six years, the four existing halfway houses have provided services to a total of 18,590 victims and potential victims of trafficking. Of this total, 22 percent are children and majority of them or 69 percent are female.
For more information please contact: Siony Flores, PPA Media Affairs, 527.4753; Roland Pacis, 0920.952.2776; Mayet Culibao, 0916.605.9347; or the Visayan Forum office 709.0573 or 709.0711; Fax number: 421.9423
Bahay Silungan sa Daungan Cumulative Report (July 2001-June2007)
