Human trafficking drive goes to Angeles

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – An international campaign initially launched in Europe to stop human trafficking is setting foot in this city through a “Freedom March” and concert tomorrow at the Balibago commercial district, some six kilometers from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) where strict measures have been put in place to prevent human trafficking.      

Officials of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said the advocates “will show their strength, unity and commitment to fight human trafficking” by staging the Freedom March to be participated in by the Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF), CIAC, the DMIA’s Task Force for Migrant Protection and Trafficking of Persons, and the Ing Makababaying Aksyon Foundation.

The march will start at the Diamond Park in Barangay Balibago and end at SM City where the concert will be held.

“The march will articulate the battle cries against human trafficking and encourage others to join the war to eliminate this escalating social problem,” said CIAC president and chief executive officer Victor Jose Luciano.

The highlight of the march is a concert dubbed as “MTV EXIT” which stands for “end exploitation and trafficking,” starting at 6 p.m.

Spearheading the concert are MTV Philippines, CIAC, VFF, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the DMIA’s Task Force for Migrant Protection and Trafficking of Persons.

The MTV EXIT campaign is an award-winning multimedia initiative against human trafficking and exploitation. Launched in Europe in 2004 in partnership with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the campaign expanded across Asia with the USAID as partner in 2007.

The concert series kicked off last May at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds with over 30,000 attendees. Two more concerts are slated on Oct. 15 in Davao City and Oct. 24 in Cebu.