THE PHILIPPINES retained its Tier 1 ranking in the recent US State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Tier 1 is the highest rating in TIP’s four-tier classification, indicating that the Philippine government “continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts” against trafficking.
Human trafficking is as bad as drug trafficking. The money made in human trafficking is the same as in illegal drugs – it is odious. And despite the enactment of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 13 years ago in 2003, the government has not eradicated the phenomenon of human trafficking.
Why?
The growing poverty, unemployment and landless in our country exponentially increase the vulnerability of women and children to sex trafficking. These actually fuel the problem. Because of their dire economic situation, many young women are forced into working as entertainers, or worse, being trafficked for sex slavery for their families to survive.
Cases of trafficking should prompt the government and its concerned agencies to take decisive action. The Philippines is a signatory to various international statutes and instrumentalities including the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their families and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime: all of which compel us to address the situation head on.
How many anti-trafficking prosecutors do we have in the Department of Justice, and prosecutors in regional Department of Justice offices?
There is also an urgent need to act on proposed legislation that will give women and their families respite from poverty and in the process reduce their vulnerability to trafficking and gender violence.
There’s a need to review the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. There are clear weaknesses in how the law is being implemented and the paltry fines and penalties do not serve as a deterrent to traffickers. We should introduce amendments that will aid and protect victims so that they may pursue cases against traffickers without fear of retaliation. There must be all-out support for victims of trafficking and their families so they won’t hesitate to press charges against their predators. The low rate of conviction in human trafficking cases is result of pressures such as being scared, fear of stigma, lack of financial means of the victims, and a tedious process to pursue a case against aggressors.
