Drug trafficking

1. Drug trafficking is a global illicit trade involving the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. UNODC is continuously monitoring and researching global illicit drug markets in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their dynamics.

death row
ˌdeTH ˈrō/ noun 1. a prison block or section for prisoners sentenced to death.

MANILA, Philippines – The militant Anakpawis Partylist blamed the fate of Mary Jane Veloso and other overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the programs and policies of the Aquino government, primarily the continuing violation of farmers rights to land, inexistent national industry and labor-export policy.
“Ang mga kababayan nating OFW ay natutulak mangibang bansa dahil wala ngang kabuhayan dito sa bansa. Ang tatay ni Mary Jane, sakada sa Hacienda Luisita, at dahil walang tunay na reporma sa lupa, natural na sila ay nakalubog sa kahirapan, kaya ganun din siya, kaya natulak siyang maghanap ng trabaho sa ibang bansa,”(Our OFW compatriots are compelled to go abroad as their is no source of livelihood within the country. Mary Jane’s father, a sacada or seasonal farm worker in Hacienda Luisita, combined with the absence of genuine land reform, they lived in deep poverty and misery. She suffered the same, which forced her to go abroad) Anakpawis Rep. Fernando “Ka Pando” Hicap said in a statement.
Anakpawis Partylist said that OFWs usually come from the provinces where jobs or sources of income and livelihood are very scarce. Similar to Veloso, they commonly come from peasant families or poor workers in small town centers. The group asserted that migration is primarily due to the government’s failure to realize genuine land reform and national industrialization that would provide the poor sectors of jobs and sources of livelihood.
“Wala na ngang kabuhayan sa kanayunan, itinutulak pa ng gubyernong Aquino na mag-abroad ang mga kababayan natin sa kanyang labor-export policy, para magpasok sila ng dolyares sa ekonomiya natin,” (With no livelihood in the countrysides, the Aquino government is pushing the poor to go abroad through his labor-export policy, for them to remit dollars to our local economy) Hicap said.
Based on the data of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, overseas Filipinos remitted more than US$ 24 billion in 2014 alone.
Anakpawis said that OFWs are vulnerable to abuses and human trafficking that would eventually put them to unfavorable situations such as being prosecuted and put to the death row. The group Migrante International said that there are 123 OFWs on death row as of December last year and about 4,500 Filipinos leave the country daily for work.
“Sa pagpapadala ng mga OFW, ang bilis ng gubyerno, pero sa pagbibigay ng tulong sa mga nangangailangan, ang bagal kumilos. Hindi mabilis na malalagay sa death row si Mary Jane kung tinodo ng gubyernong Aquino ang pwede nitong maitulong,” (The government is fast in sending OFWs abroad, but slow in delivering aid. Mary Jane would not be put swiftly on death row if the Aquino government has exhausted all means to help her) Hicap said.
Anakpawis called on every Filipino to join the Save Mary Jane campaign led by Migrante International. The Hacienda Luisita farmers belonging to Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) and Anakpawis – Tarlac have expressed support to Veloso’s father, Cesar Veloso who hailed from La Paz town, Tarlac.
“Wala talagang pagkalinga sa mahihirap si Aquino at nadadagdagan ang kanyang krimeng kapabayaan sa mamamayang Pilipino. Kailangang siyang papanagutin sa sinapit ni Mary Jane at iba pang OFW na nasa death row,” (Aquino is notorious of ignoring the plight of the poor and he is adding to his crimes of negligence to the Filipino people. We must hold Aquino primarily responsible for the situation of Mary Jane and other OFWs on death row) Hicap said. ###