US upgrades Phl in human trafficking report

WASHINGTON – The Philippines has been promoted for its efforts against human trafficking, joining for the first time an exclusive club of countries leading the fight to eliminate modern slavery.

In its 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released on Thursday, the State Department elevated the Philippines to the Tier 1 status of countries that fully comply with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of the US.

In Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs and former labor chief Rosalinda Baldoz welcomed the development, but with the latter saying “we should not sit on our laurels…”

The promotion coincided with the inauguration of President Duterte. One of Duterte’s campaign promises was to push for the revival of the death penalty against human traffickers, saying their crime was as worse as drug trafficking.

With its promotion the Philippines joins 35 other countries in Tier 1, including Australia, Canada, Britain and the US.

The Philippines was for five years in the Tier 2 grouping of countries that did not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so.

Of the 188 countries evaluated in the latest TIP report, 78 countries are in Tier 2 (no compliance but making significant efforts to comply) and 44 in the Tier 2 watchlist grouping. Twenty-seven countries are in Tier 3 and three are grouped under “special cases.”

While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the problem, the State Department said.     

Rather, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, has made efforts to address the problem and meets the TVPA’s minimum standards.

Each year, governments need to demonstrate appreciable progress in combating trafficking to maintain a Tier 1 ranking, it said.

The TIP report said the Philippine government convicted 42 traffickers, including five for online child sex trafficking and two for forced labor during the reporting period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016.

Police investigated 329 alleged trafficking cases, a steady increase from the 282 and 155 suspected cases investigated in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The government provided anti-trafficking training to Filipino troops prior to their deployment abroad on international peacekeeping missions, and for its diplomatic personnel.

It also increased the funding for the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) to facilitate anti-trafficking prevention campaigns for migrant workers, and assisted about 1,500 victims. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Roel Pareño, Mayen Jaymalin