THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has extended until September 30, 2023 the deadline for this year’s submission of the updated Sworn Information and Updated Statement (SIUS) of political parties and party-list groups.
The extension of the August 15 deadline was contained in Resolution No. 10943.
“The Comelec has extended the 2023 deadline to submit the SIUS for all registered political parties or coalition of political parties, national, regional, or sectoral party, organization, or coalition, including party-lists, with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission (OCOC) until 30 September 2023,” said the Comelec.
In a separate statement, Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the extension would ensure that all political parties and party-list organizations comply with the requirements.
Laudiangco said this is also due to the recent transition and reforms happening within the Comelec related to the SIUS submission.
“The (SIUS) receipt and evaluation (will be transferred) from the Clerk of the Commission to the newly reorganized Political Finance and Affairs Department (formerly the Campaign Finance Office),” he said.
Nevertheless, the Comelec stressed that the deadline for the annual SIUS submission shall remain August 15 beginning next year.
“Starting in 2024, and annually, thereafter, the last day to file the said SIUS shall be on August 15,” said the Comelec.
The SIUS is a document that states, among others, the full name of political party, party-list organization, or coalition of political parties with acronym; principal headquarters and postal office address, including its branches and divisions, if any; date of registration and constituency; list of current officers, respective positions, and sex; and list of elected members in the immediately preceding national and local elections, respective elective positions, and sex.
The Comelec said failure to comply with the requirements to submit their SIUS shall be deemed as prima facie evidence that the party, organization, or coalition has ceased to exist, and/or that they deliberately failed to comply with the applicable rules of the Commission.
“It shall be a cause for the cancellation of registration of the concerned party, organization, or coalition after due notice,” said the Comelec.
p2 pogos — joan
POGO workers trafficked as scammers abroad
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
IMMIGRATION Commissioner Norman Tansingco yesterday said the agency is looking into information that local workers in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) are being trafficked to work in scam hubs in Asian countries.
Tansingco said he received a report from the agency’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section on the repatriation of a male trafficking victim on Wednesday, August 9.
The 30-year-old victim was trafficked to Myanmar to work as a ‘love scammer” targeting Americans and Europeans to invest in crypto currency.
Tansingco said the victim left Manila in August last year with five others bound for Thailand, telling immigration authorities that he is a POGO worker in the Philippines.
He likewise had numerous previous short travels abroad as a tourist, immigration records showed.
“He admitted upon repatriation that he was recruited on social media as a customer service representative in Thailand, but upon arrival was fetched by a van and transported via boat to Myanmar,” the BI chief said.
“He was required to reach a weekly quota, otherwise, he would be subjected to physical torture, including electrocution. Working hours were 16 to 18 hours a day, and he only gets a day or half day off when he reaches his quota,’” he added.
The victim was only able to gain his freedom after managing to pay the traffickers P168, 000 out of the P500, 000 they initially asked.
In a related development, Tansingco said his office supports the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking (IACAT) to disincentivize rescued trafficking victims who are found to have again departed the country without proper documents or found to be working in “scam hubs” anew.
Created under Section 20 of Republic Act No. 9208 otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, the IACAT is composed of the secretaries of the Departments of Justice and Social Welfare and Development as chair and co-chair, respectively, and the heads of Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas and Employment Administration, BI, Philippine National Police, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and three representatives from non-government organizations as members.
“We support the recommendation of the IACAT to disincentivize victims who again depart without proper documentation or end up in similar companies here in the Philippines,” Tansingco said, adding this is meant to discourage an individual from committing the same act.
This comes after a Filipina who had previously been rescued by authorities after being trafficked to Myanmar was again found to have worked in an online gaming operation that was raided by authorities in Pasay City recently.
Tansingco said the Filipina was rescued just last April this year, adding that she told authorities she got a job in the raided Pasay City facility when she returned to the country and saw an ad on social media that it was looking for workers in the online gaming industry.
“It is disheartening to see these victims being exploited over and over again,’ Tansingco said.
But he acknowledged the need for the government to also provide alternative livelihood to trafficked victims to prevent them from becoming victims of human traffickers and scammers again.
