Canada mulls pulling out Oxfam funding amid sexual abuse claims in Philippines
February 16, 2018 | 12:07pm
This May 21, 2013 photo shows an Oxfam store in London. The UK government is reviewing its relationship with the charity in the wake of sex allegations against some of the charity's staff on Feb. 10, 2018. The Department for International Development took the decision after the charity denied claims it had covered up the use of prostitutes by aid workers in Haiti. Latest reports from UK tabloid newspaper The Sun reported that Oxfam aid workers in the Philippines were seen lounging around a hotel in Cebu with girls who appeared to be only 14 or 15 years old.
Nick Ansell / PA via AP, File
MANILA, Philippines — The Canadian government may suspend its funding to Oxfam International's operations in the Philippines following claims of sexual abuse involving the charity's staff.
Lan Mercado, Oxfam's Regional Director for Asia, told the BBC that she was aware that there were past claims of sexual abuse involving their staff in the Philippines, Bangladesh and Nepal before she started as regional director two years ago.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during the debates at the Canadian Parliament earlier this week, said that they are looking into the situation.
"In regard to the Philippines, we are following up. We require that all partners we work with in disaster or humanitarian situations adhere to internationally agreed on codes of conduct and code principles related to sexual exploitation and abuse," Trudeau said.
Michelle Rempel, a member of the Canadian Parliament, noted that in November 2017, Trudeau announced that Canada will be funding Oxfam's Philippine operations.
In his visit to Manila for the ASEAN Summit last year, Trudeau announced that Canada would be investing $17.8 million to the sexual health and empowerment project for women in the Philippines.
The program, which seeks to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights services for Filipinas, would be implemented by Oxfam International.
Earlier this week, the Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, opened an inquiry into allegations of misconduct by Oxfam staff involved in its humanitarian response in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
Mercado, in an interview with BBC, said that the scale of misconduct of Oxfam's staff in the Philippines was "not comparable" to that in Haiti.
UK tabloid newspaper The Sun reported that Oxfam aid workers in the Philippines were seen lounging around a hotel in Cebu with girls who appeared to be only 14 or 15 years old.
British pilot Chris Jacobs told The Sun that guests at a five-star hotel in Cebu City were disgusted at the sight of older male staff "cavorting" with underage girls in 2013. The aid workers were reportedly sent to the Philippines to help victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda.
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