VZCZCXRO5616
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #2405/01 1990725
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 180725Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7465
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002405 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, INL, DRL 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR BREAKS GROUND ON TWO SHELTERS FOR 
TRAFFICKING VICTIMS 
 
REF: MANILA 788 
 
¶1.  Summary. Ambassador joined NGO and government leaders in 
a July 11 groundbreaking ceremony for a new shelter for 
victims of trafficking in persons (TIP) at Manila's North 
Harbor, the largest port in the Philippines.  The shelter 
will replace an earlier one built in 2001, and will be able 
to accommodate a larger number of intercepted TIP victims at 
the port.  The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will 
construct the facility, while NGO Visayan Forum Foundation 
(VFF), with assistance from the U.S. Government, will oversee 
its operations when construction is completed.  The PPA 
announced its plans to build three additional shelters at 
"hot spot" ports over the next year -- Zamboanga, Iloilo and 
Surigao. The event at Manila's North Harbor came just two 
months following the groundbreaking for a VFF halfway house 
at Manila's International Airport.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Larger Shelter to be Built at Manila's Port 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. On July 11, exactly six years after the opening of VFF's 
first halfway house for trafficking victims, Ambassador, VFF 
Executive Director Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, and PPA General 
Manager Oscar Sevilla celebrated PPA's plans to construct a 
new, larger shelter at Manila's North Harbor Port within the 
next six months.  Though the initial construction was already 
underway, the three joined other NGO and government leaders 
to bury a commemorative capsule within the building's 
foundations.  The capsule contained copies of the halfway 
house agreements between the PPA and VFF, the architectural 
plans for the new facility, and the day's newspaper to mark 
the date of the ceremony.  Media attendance at the event was 
extensive, leading to prominent articles in major daily 
newspapers and on TV news featuring the Ambassador's remarks 
and detailing U.S. assistance in anti-TIP efforts in the 
Philippines. 
 
¶3. The partnership between VFF and the PPA dates back to 1999 
when the PPA agreed to construct VFF's first halfway house 
for victims and potential victims of trafficking at North 
Harbor.  After two years of discussions, VFF and PPA opened 
the doors of the "Bahay Silungan sa Daungan" (Port Halfway 
House) on July 11, 2001.  Since opening the shelter's doors, 
the staff of VFF North Harbor Halfway House has rescued more 
than 2,400 actual and potential TIP victims.  They have 
trained more then 2,300 port employees, including law 
enforcement officers, cargo handlers, and shipping operators, 
on how to identify and intercept victims and traffickers 
aboard vessels.  Having outgrown the original space, the new 
two-story shelter will be able to accommodate approximately 
30 victims at any given time and will house a separate 
conference room for VFF training at the port. 
 
¶4. Following the successful partnership at the North Harbor, 
the PPA has also built halfway houses at the ports of Davao, 
Batangas, and Sorsogon. The four halfway houses have become 
centers for information and advocacy against TIP, as well as 
places of sanctuary for thousands of victims intercepted each 
year. 
 
¶5. At the July 11 ceremony, PPA General Manager Sevilla 
announced the PPA's plans to build three new shelters within 
the next year.  In coordination with VFF, PPA selected three 
"hot spots" in the Visayas and Mindanao where traffickers are 
suspected of operating -- Zamboanga, Iloilo and Surigao.  The 
shelter in Zamboanga will target passengers traveling to and 
from the southernmost islands of Jolo and Tawi-Tawi, as well 
as the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Indonesia.  The 
shelters in Surigao and Iloilo will address the routes from 
the Visayas to metro-Manila via land and sea. 
 
----------------------- 
From Seaport to Airport 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. While Philippine anti-TIP efforts at seaports have long 
been regarded as an international best practice (and 
highlighted in the 2005 TIP Report as such), government and 
NGO focus is now being placed on Manila's airport as a key 
transit point for trafficking victims, especially those 
trafficked to international destinations. 
 
¶7. On May 7, Ambassador, VFF Executive Director Oebanda, and 
 
MANILA 00002405  002 OF 002 
 
 
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager 
Alfonso Cusi unveiled the plans for a halfway house at 
Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the first 
of its kind in the Philippines.  Airport Manager Cusi and VFF 
Oebanda's relationship extends back to the agreement to build 
the first halfway house at Manila's North Harbor Port, when 
Cusi was then the Port's General Manager.  Using the PPA-VFF 
partnership as a model, Cusi's MIAA is absorbing all 
construction costs for the halfway house, while VFF will 
manage the daily operations of the shelter when completed. 
The airport halfway house is expected to be fully operational 
in late 2007 or early 2008. It will augment MIAA's ongoing 
law enforcement efforts through the Airport's Anti-TIP Task 
Force (reftel) by providing support services to victims and 
potential victims intercepted by the Task Force. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/ 
 
KENNEY