Philippines successful vs trafficking

CEBU, Philippines - The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking-7 is bent on sustaining the Philippines’ ranking after it was upgraded to Tier 1 from Tier 2 in terms of efforts to combat human trafficking.

The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia with a Tier 1 ranking, which means the country fully complies with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

This was stipulated in the 15th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released by the US Department of State’s Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons last June 30.

Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane, head of IACAT-7, said the challenge now is how to sustain the ranking.

He said sustaining tier 1 requires “more of our resources, time and coordination.”

He pointed out that the volume of cases vis-à-vis the few prosecutors and courts to handle them are among the major challenges in the prosecution aspect.

IACAT clarified that the new ranking doesn’t mean trafficking is completely eliminated.

Child sex trafficking remains a pervasive problem due to the emergence of modern day technology, which is now being used to traffic children and women. IACAT calls the new trend as Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC).

 “Child sex trafficking remains a pervasive and ever changing problem that continues to evolve with the increase in access to technology and the internet. The fight is not yet over,” IACAT said in a statement.

Based on the records of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 22 of 24 minors were rescued from OSEC cases in the previous year.

Lawyer John Tanagho, acting field Office Director of International Justice Mission, said the youngest IACAT operations have rescued range from three months old to five years old.

“Eighty six percent of victims of online exploitations are minors and 56 percent of which are 12 years old and younger,” he said.

The police admitted they lack the technology to make the work most efficient.

“We lack of modern equipment or applications to pin point the exact location of a suspect,” said Supt. Renante Lambojo.

Lambojo said one of the hurdles in cases involving cyber pornography is that families of victims are involved of the crime, most of the time.

In 2010, there was a 79 percent decrease in the availability of children for commercial sex in Metro Cebu in just four years since 2006. This shift has been attributed to formation and preservation of interagency partnerships and collaborations.

Over the past year, the IACAT has facilitated the rescue of 173 victims of trafficking with seven of those victims identified as minors in Cebu alone. The unit as also apprehended 26 suspects, which has led to the filing of 49 cases of trafficking in persons in court. (FREEMAN)