Aklan woodpusher advances to age group national finals

Veteran campaigner Precious Day Yecla will see action in the national finals after dominating the 2017 National Age-Group Championships Visayas Qualifying Leg in Kalibo, Aklan from January 17 to 22 at CityMall Kalibo. 

Yecla of Kalibo, Aklan earned six points without losing a match in the Girls Under-12 category in the tournament sanctioned by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP). 

The 10-year old veteran chess player (FED rating 1810) defeated Shane Agujetos of Passi City Iloilo; Jhanel Bermudez of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental;  Ferrose Joy Rafailes of Kalibo, Aklan (FED 1649), Stharz Olvido of San Dionisio, Iloilo and Francheska Jeen Rafailes of Kalibo Aklan.

Yecla halved a point with Charlize Mae Cuambot of Escalante City, Negros Occidental and needed to draw in the last round against Queen Rose Pamplona (FED Rating 1648) of Passi City, Iloilo to advance to the national finals.   

Meanwhile, Kevin Mirano of Aklan also outclassed his opponents to rule the 7th Peter I. Kimpo Memorial Chess Championship.

Mirano (FED Rating 2170) earned 5.0 points in the six-round tournament. He subdued Tito Colaste, Jr., Riflosaldy Tabanao, Fritz Bryan Porras and his brother Jan Francis Mirano.

The 26-year old Mirano drew his matches with John Michael Silvederio and Lloyd Lanciola.

The chess tournaments were supported by the provincial government of Aklan, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee. 

Asia's first Grandmaster Eugene Torre also played in a simultaneous chess exhibition at CityMall Kalibo last January 17.

Torre will represent the country in the World Seniors Chess Championships on November 18 to December 1 in Czech Republic.

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Fire destroys hardware store in Numancia

A fire that lasted for two-hours razed a hardware store in Numancia, Aklan early morning of January 22, a Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) official said. 

Fire Inspector Joseph Cadag, chief of BFP-Numancia said fire fighters and fire trucks of BFP New Washington, Tangalan, Numancia and Kalibo were deployed to put out the fire in Barangay Poblacion. 

Fire fighters responded to the fire scene at 2:40 a.m. in Coching Enterprises along F. Carillo Street, about five kilometers away from the capital town of Kalibo.

“Pagdating namin sa area, malaki na ang sunog. Nag fire suppression activity kami sa tulong ng mga kalapit na fire stations,” he added in Bombo Radyo Kalibo interview.

Cadag said the fire fighters and volunteers had difficulty entering the building due to thick smoke. 

“May mga pintura, krudo, thinner at ibang flammable materials sa loob ng building, nahirapan din tayo na i-kontrol ang sunog,” he added.

Cadag said the fire reached the second alarm before it was declared fire out at 4:30 a.m. The fire has been put under control at 7 a.m.

A concrete wall prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring residential houses in the area. 

BFP arson investigators are still investigating the incident and the actual cause of fire. Cadag said they cordoned the incident area to prevent the unauthorized entry of persons pending the results of mapping and ground investigations. 

No one was hurt during the fire.

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

“Smuggled workers’ lured by recruiters in social media

The rescued victims of human trafficking in Kalibo International Airport (KIA) were lured by illegal recruiters through their social media accounts.

Facebook is commonly being used by traffickers in the recruitment of would-be victims, according to Arlyn Siatong, officer-in-charge of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Aklan office here.

One of the victims was befriended by the recruiters using social media with false promises of legitimate and better work opportunities overseas.  

Following the rescue operation, Siatong urged the public to be vigilant against illegal recruiters and to report their activities to authorities.  

Last January 16, the applicant-victims, aged between 33 and 32 years old from Angeles City, Pampanga and Cawayan, Isabela, reported the alleged illegal recruitment activities to DOLE-Aklan office in Kalibo, Aklan.

“Galing ang mga biktima sa Maynila at hindi nila nakikita personal ang recruiter nila, lahat tawag or text ang instructions sa kanila. Dito lang nila nalaman sa Kalibo na papuntang Lebanon at hindi sa Malaysia sila mag-trabaho...ang dala lang nila ay ang kanilang passports...wala silang ibang dokumento tulad ng overseas employment certificate at employment contract,” Siatong said in radio reports.

(They came from Manila. They did not see their recruiter. All their instructions were given through calls or text messages. It was only here in Kalibo that they learned they were going to Lebanon and not Malaysia…All they brought were their passports…They don't have other documents such as overseas employment certificates and employment contracts.)

Another victim, a returning overseas worker, told the DOLE official that she was surprised by the “recruitment process” and they have no necessary working permits from government agencies.    

“Dinala namin ang mga applicants sa Kalibo PNP after ng profiling namin dahil naghinala tayo sa proseso ng employment,” Siatong said. (We brought the applicants to Kalibo PNP after our profiling because they became suspicious about the employment process.)

‘ENTRAPMENT OPERATION’

An entrapment operation was spearheaded by Kalibo police, Department of Justice and the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) as police officers in plain-clothes were deployed also in the airport at around 12:30 p.m. of January 19.

The recruiters were supposed to ‘smuggle out’ the victims without proper work documents to Lebanon via Kalibo International Airport (KIA). However, authorities intercepted them inside the airport’s pre-departure area before their scheduled 3 p.m. flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Ang tatlong biktima na nag-report sa atin at itong pag-apat na biktima ay doon na mismo sa airport nag-kita kita. We never expected na ganoon kabilis na wala ng questioning sa immigration counters...kaagad na tinatakan ang passports ng mga biktima...walang hinanap na documents,” Siatong said. 

(The 3 victims reported it to us, and the 4th victim met them at the airport itself. We never expected that it would be so quick, without questioning at the immigration counters…They immediately stamped their passports…They did not look for documents.)

The three applicant-victims, who initially reported the illegal recruitment to DOLE-Aklan office, and another woman victim were taken into custody by the police after the operation. 

Three illegal recruiters, tricycle driver, porter were also arrested while two female immigration officers were invited for questioning to the Kalibo municipal police station for their alleged involvement. 

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Tour guides urge to renew DOT-accreditation

Be accredited.

Tour guides in Boracay Island are encouraged to renew or seek accreditation with the Department of Tourism (DOT).

In a phone interview, DOT Boracay field office in charge Kristoffer Leo Velete said DOT-trained and accredited tour guides have certificates of accreditation and identification cards to deliver excellent tourism services.

“May mga tour guides sa Boracay, di naman karamihan, ay hindi pa naka-renew ng kanilang accreditation sa DOT,” he added.

Velete said tour guides who are members of Malay Tour Guide Association are also hired by tour and travel agencies or they are freelancers or on commission basis.

Refresher courses are also conducted by DOT to equip the accredited tour guides with latest trends of tourism services.

Velete clarified that the tourism department are not issuing licenses to tour coordinators/commissioners except for tour guides who are required first to undergo a 21-day seminar for accreditation with DOT.

Tour coordinators or locally known as “commissioners” are mandated to secure permits from the local government of Malay before they are allowed to provide business or services to tourists. Tour coordinators without the necessary permits from LGUs are considered ‘illegal’.

Velete said the agency received several complaints from tourists regarding exorbitant fees charged by commissioners.

Last Thursday, the crackdown on the growing number of illegal commissioners and vendors continues in the beach front of Boracay.

Authorities confiscated brochures and marketing materials of illegal commissioners and souvenir items of vendors for violations of Malay municipal ordinances.

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Immigration officers, recruiters nabbed for human trafficking

Two female immigration officers were detained by authorities in the latest anti-human trafficking operation at Kalibo International Airport (KIA) on Thursday, January 19.

Police did not identify the immigration officers pending an investigation into their alleged involvement in human trafficking. 

The airport immigration officers were implicated after one of the victims told the police that they were not subjected to secondary inspection required for departing passengers or travellers and were cleared to depart to Malaysia.

Police also apprehended 3 illegal recruiters from Manila and their alleged cohorts – a tricycle driver from Bakhaw Sur, Kalibo and an airport porter from Mabilo, New Washington who facilitated the entry of victims into Kalibo airport.

The 4 women were bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at around 3:00 pm on Thursday when authorities intercepted them at the pre-departure area of Kalibo International Airport. The rescue operation was conducted by elements from the Kalibo municipal station in coordination with the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) and the airport police.

Provincial Assistant Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales said the victims, who are residents of Isabela and Pampanga provinces, complained to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on January 17 that they were recruited without the necessary papers to work abroad in Lebanon via Kuala Lumpur as domestic helpers.

Police further noted the victims also had no employment contracts or permits with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

"May text messages sa mga victims galing sa recruiter nila na doon sila pumila sa mga nasabing immigration officers. Ang kanilang mga passports ay kaagad na na-stamp ng immigration officers at wala halos na interview o mga tanong sa mga biktima ng human trafficking," Gonzales said in a radio interview.

(There were text messages from their recruiter telling them to line up at specific immigration officers. Their passports were quickly stamped by the immigration officers with next to no interview or questions asked from the victims of human trafficking.)

Police said the victims attempted to depart using Kalibo International Airport as their exit point by presenting questionable documents.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has yet to issue a statement regarding the involvement of its two immigration officers assigned in Kalibo International Airport.

One of the alleged illegal recruiters, however, denied allegations he was the mastermind behind the recruitment of women to work abroad illegally.

"Hindi ko naman kilala ang mga biktima, kahit itong mga porter at tricycle driver, kahit makaharap ko pa sila. Ngayon lang kami nagkita ng mga taong ito. Pumunta ako sa Kalibo, sa piyesta at sa Boracay, dahil mahilig ako sa sabong, Napagkamalan lang ako," he said at the police station.

(I don't know these victims, nor would I know the porter and tricycle driver, even if I was put in front of them. I've only met these people now. I went to Kalibo, for the fiesta, and to Boracay, because I'm a cockfighting fan. This is mistaken identity.)

The illegal recruiters and their cohorts were temporarily detained at the Kalibo police station pending appropriate filing of charges for violations of Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

The immigration officers, however, will be facing administrative charges for “negligence of duty” depending on inquest proceedings.

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL