Combating Human Trafficking In Persons in the Philippines
Background
Trafficking in persons (TIP) is considered a modern-day form of
slavery and is one of the prevalent societal injustices across the
globe today. In the Philippines, TIP is a serious challenge to the government as
it is often controlled by organized crime syndicates. With the migration of Filipino worker
abroad and the presence of organized syndicates, TIP cases in the country have rapidly
increased, placing the country among those with biggest number of TIP. The
International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that one million
Filipino men and women migrate abroad each year for work
opportunities, and that 10 million Filipinos currently live and work
abroad.
A large percentage
of these migrants are subjected to
conditions of forced labor in factories, at construction sites, on
fishing vessels, on agricultural plantations, and as domestic workers
in Asia and increasingly throughout the Middle East. Filipino women
in domestic servitude abroad face rape and violent physical and
sexual abuse. Skilled Filipino migrant workers, such as engineers
and nurses, have also been subjected to conditions of involuntary
servitude. Women were trafficked into the commercial sex industry
in countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea,
and Japan and in various Middle Eastern countries. Within the
country traffickers, in partnership with organized crime syndicates
and complicit law enforcement officers, regularly operate through
fraudulent recruitment agencies and practices to traffic migrants.
Traffickers
use
local
recruiters
sent
to
villages
and
urban
neighborhoods to recruit family and friends, often masquerading as
representatives of government-registered employment agencies.
These fraudulent recruitment practices and the institutionalized
practice of paying recruitment fees often leave workers vulnerable
to forced labor, debt bondage, and commercial sexual exploitation.
There were reports in 2010 that illicit recruiters increased their use
of student, intern, and exchange program visas to circumvent the
Philippines
government
and
receiving
countries
regulatory
frameworks for foreign workers (Humantrafficking.Org).
A report published in 2004 by the Vatican stated: The
Philippines has a serious trafficking problem of women and children
illegally recruited into the tourist industry for sexual exploitation. It
mentioned the destinations within the country, which includes Metro
Manila, Angeles City, Olongapo City, towns in Bulacan, Batangas,
Cebu City, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City and other sex tourist
resorts such as Puerto Galera, which is notorious, Pagsanjan,
Laguna,
San
Fernando
Pampanga,
and
many
beach
resorts
throughout the country. The promise of recruiters offers women and
children attractive jobs in the country or abroad, and instead they
are coerced and forced and controlled into the sex industry for
tourists (Rev. Father Shay Cullen, 2004).
The Philippines is ranked under Tier 2 Watch List in the 2009
and 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report of the United States (US)
State Department due to the Philippine governments alleged failure
to show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders,
particularly those responsible for labor trafficking. Although the
report recognized the efforts of the government in fighting in TIP, its
overall
assessment
revealed
that
there
was
no
significant
accomplishment made to combat the problem. The governments
efforts to raise awareness and prevent trafficking in persons, mainly
for migrant workers seemed not enough. The pre-employment
orientation seminars for over 60,000 departing overseas Filipino
workers and training in local government units on how to identify
warning signs of illegal recruitment and human trafficking were
conducted by POEA. It also trained diplomatic staff and overseas
labor and social welfare officers in methods for assisting trafficking
victims abroad. However, all of these have not yet brought down the
number of TIP cases yet. Further, the Inter-Agency Council against
Trafficking (IACAT) which was established in 2004, made several
cooperations with NGO anti-trafficking initiatives despite limited
budget. IACAT also continued to support the creation of local
counterparts and created model anti-trafficking local ordinances.
Despite the efforts of the Government, it still falls short as the
country is still known as a source, transit, and destination country
for men, women, and children trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor. (U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons
Report, 2009)
In response to this, the congress further strengthened AntiTrafficking in Persons Act (Republic Act No. 9208) in 2003 by the
Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 10364) in 2012. The
expanded law earned praises as it is deemed one of the best
legislative
measures
formulated
among
developing
countries.
However, many have observed that the Government lacks the
capability to implement the said law. (Morales, 2015)
Years prior to the enactment of RA 10364, it is a known fact
that the prosecution of TIP cases in the country was rather slow and
inefficient. US Report in 2009 said that the (Philippine) governments
ability to effectively prosecute trafficking crimes is severely limited
by an inefficient judicial system and endemic corruption.
This
scenario is changing gradually. According to IACAT report on TIP
Convictions as of January 14, 2014 the Law enforcement has
recorded increase in the resolution of TIP cases, with the relatively
rapid promulgation of court decisions. It said that the convictions
from 2005 to 2013 can be traced to 32 cities and municipalities.
Among the top three (3) areas with the most number of reported
convictions is Quezon City recording 12 convictions and 21 persons
convicted. The other two were the City of Manila (12 convictions and
14 persons convicted) and Cebu City (17 convictions and 18 persons
convicted (as cited in Gradual justice (Liao, 2014). In furtherance
of the advocacy to combat TIP, IACAT budget was doubled, reaching
$2.4 million in 2013 and a dedicated National Anti-Trafficking Unit
under
the
Philippine
National
Polices
Protection Center was created in 2014.
Women
and
Children
