PH Embassy in Damascus Affidavits Lead to Police Arrest of the #1 Most Influential Trafficker Victimizing Filipinas in Syria
Mugshot of Paksatul Anding y Idres, a.k.a. “Hadja Paksa” (photo courtesy of Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 9)
DAMASCUS, 07 July 2021 – The Philippine Embassy in Damascus was informed that Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children Protection Center Mindanao Field Unit (WCPC-MFU) arrested the #1 most influential personality involved in trafficking Filipinas from Zamboanga, Philippines to Damascus, Syria, on 06 June 2021.
Through the cooperation of member agencies of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Paksatul Anding y Idres, a.k.a. “Hajja Paksa”, “Hadja Idang Paksa,” was nabbed by a police team composed of the Zamboanga Anti-Trafficking Task Force and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) ZCFU (Lead Unit) of Region 9, CIDG RFU 9, CIDG Basilan PFU, RACU 9, WCPC-MFU, 12 MICO, Task Force Zamboanga, MBLT 11, 4th MCIC (MCIBN), 904th RMFB and TCS RMFB, Coast Guard Intelligence Group SWM, HPG 9, and Police Station 6 of the Zamboanga City Police.
The warrant of arrest was served on Hajja Paksa, described as “big fish” in the area, who was also positively identified through the complaint-affidavits of the trafficking and illegal recruitment victims in the custody of the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) shelter at the Embassy. When the victims were interviewed by the Embassy personnel and shown the photos of Hajja Paksa, they confirmed that this was the same person engaged in the modus operandi of illegally recruiting and trafficking women from Zamboanga to the Syrian Arab Republic.
On 26 June 2021, these photos were included in the evidence packets that were handcarried by the trafficking victims when they were repatriated to the Philippines through the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA).
According to IACAT sources, cases against Hajja Paksa were filed in the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Sulu and Zamboanga, as well as other tribunals in the region. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will file multiple cases of violation of RA 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, as amended by RA 10364, and RA 8042, the Migrant Workers Act, as amended by RA 10022 (Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale) – all non-bailable offenses while Hajja Paksa remains in detention. She was also the subject of a search warrant for violation of RA 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms and Ammunition).
The victims of Hajja Paksa who were repatriated from Syria are now safe in the quarantine facility after DFA-OUMWA turned over their custody to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Bureau of Quarantine. After assessment of their condition, they will be referred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for community reintegration and assistance.
The Embassy learned that Hajja Paksa has been operating since 2009, sending victims to Malaysia and other countries with a deployment ban, including the Syrian Arab Republic. During a raid conducted in 2015, around 200 passports were confiscated from the residence of Hajja Paksa, including firearms and ammunition.
Philippine Chargé d’affaires to Syria Vida Soraya Verzosa explained, “the arrest of this high value target highlights the collaborative effort of the Department of Foreign Affairs and other IACAT member agencies, especially the law enforcement authorities. The Philippine Embassy is committed to the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of overseas Filipinos, as one of the pillars of foreign policy, with the President as its principal architect.” END
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Address: Hamzeh Ibn Abdul Mutaleb St., Building No. 56, West Mezzeh Area, Damascus
Tel. No. : (+963-11) 613-2626)
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