But making significant efforts to do so
The Philippines was retained in the Tier-2 list of countries in the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIPR) 2008 of the US State Department released Wednesday.
The US State Department prepares the report based on the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended. It defined countries in the Tier-2 list as “Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”
Since 2001, when the first TIPR was prepared the Philippines has been on the Tier-2 list except for 2004 and 2005 when it was placed on the Tier-2 Watch List. The 2008 report said in particular: “The Government of the Philippines does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”
Sexual exploitation and forced labor
A large number of street children are reportedly prostituted in the urban areas of the Philippines.
The Philippines was described in the 2008 report as “primarily a country of origin for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. “
It cited that Filipinos in significant number migrate abroad for work and are “subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Cote d’Ivoire, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.”
Is said that “Filipinas are also trafficked abroad for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, and countries in the Middle East and Western Europe.”
Internally, the US report said women and children from poor communities in the Visayas and Mindanao are also trafficked to urban areas such as Manila and Cebu City “for commercial sexual exploitation, or are subjected to forced labor as domestic servants or factory workers.”
It noted a “growing trend is the use of budget airline carriers to transport victims out of the country” also the use of “fake travel documents, falsified permits, and altered birth certificates.”
On the destination side, the report also said that “a smaller number of women are occasionally trafficked from the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, and Russia to the Philippines for commercial sexual exploitation.”
The report however said that: “Child sex tourism continues to be a serious problem for the Philippines. Sex tourists reportedly came from Northeast Asia, Europe, and North America to engage in sexual activity with minors.”
The report also cited that the Philippine government “continued efforts to reduce demand for child sex tourism by cooperating with the prosecution of American nationals under terms of the US PROTECT Act of 2003.”
The 2008 report cited the government’s “exemplary efforts” to prevent the trafficking of migrant workers as well as in protecting overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were exploited abroad.
Weak efforts at prosecution and conviction
The 2008 report however pointed out that the Philippines has made minimal improvement in the prosecution and conviction of trafficking offenders “given the scope and magnitude of the internal trafficking problem.”
It cited only three convictions under the 2003 anti-trafficking law – against “three sex traffickers: two in Cebu City; and one in Davao. Each convicted trafficker was found guilty, sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay fines ranging from $50,000 to $70,000.” The report said the improvement was minimal compared to the 2006 which reported only one conviction.
The US State Department report said that improving this is aspect “is essential for the Government of the Philippines to continue progress towards compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”
The US report also said that no criminal convictions for forced labor were made during the reporting period which was from April 2007 through March 2008.
In terms of filing of cases versus traffickers, the report noted that 155 alleged trafficking cases were reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ), of which prosecutors initiated prosecutions in 56 of the cases. The report said that the remaining cases remained under preliminary investigation or were dismissed for lack of evidence.
It noted that the government’s ability to effectively prosecute “remained handicapped by a lack of resources, endemic corruption, and general ineffectiveness of the judicial system.”
It also noted that a “high vacancy rate among judges significantly slowed trial times.”
The 2008 reports main recommendation for the Philippines focused on this aspect.
“Significantly improve the record of prosecutions, convictions, and punishments for traffickers; disseminate information on the 2003 law throughout the country; train law enforcement officers and prosecutors on the use of the 2003 law; and vigorously investigate and prosecute public officials complicit in trafficking,” said the report’s recommendations for the Philippines.
The report positively cited that the Philippine government provided its cooperation to other countries particularly in Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Australia in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.
Widespread corruption
Another problem mentioned in the report was “Widespread corruption at all levels of the government permitted many organized crime groups, including traffickers, to conduct their illegal activities.”
The report said that “it is widely believed that some government officials are involved in, or at least permit, trafficking operations within the country.”
It cited a trial versus a police officer Dennis Reci, who was charged in 2005 for allegedly trafficking minors for commercial sexual exploitation at his night club in Manila. The report said the court decision was still pending and that the policeman was still detained.
The report cited the creation of Task Force Against Trafficking at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in February 2007 to combat trafficking at the airport by intercepting undocumented passengers, assisting victims, and monitoring involvement of airport personnel. It also noted however that the task force “filed one case of trafficking involving an immigration employee at the airport and referred two other cases of trafficking- related corruption involving four immigration personnel to the Office of the Ombudsman.”
Victims’ protection
The US State Department report praised the Philippine government as it “sustained its strong efforts to protect victims of trafficking in 2007, including through partnerships with NGOs and international organizations that provide services to victims.”
It also cited the government efforts to provide temporary residency status, relief from deportation, shelter, and access to legal, medical, and psychological services. It noted that the Department of Social Welfare and Development operated 42 temporary shelters for victims throughout the country with thirteen supported by a non-charity organization.
The report said that the “Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has extended assistance to Philippine citizens trafficked abroad and managed repatriations.”
In coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),
It recognized the DFA lead through its embassies and its 41 labor attachés who served in 35 cities around the world in protecting the rights of migrant workers abroad in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment.
It cited DOLE for the deployment of “41 labor attachés who served in 35 cities around the world to help protect migrant workers; in addition, DOLE’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) sent 40 welfare officers abroad to support the work of labor attachés.”
The report also cited the Philippine government’s efforts in instituting measures to protect OFWs from fraudulent or otherwise illegal recruitment offers as well the broadcast of anti-trafficking infomercials.
The report also said that the Philippines has signed and ratified relevant international conventions namely the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress & Punish Trafficking in Persons, ILO Convention 182, Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Armed Conflict, ILO Convention 29, Forced Labour and ILO Convention 105, Abolition of Forced Labour.
Human trafficking
The TVPA of the United States defines “severe forms of trafficking” as: “sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.”
The Department of State said the 2008 report was prepared “using information from US embassies, foreign government officials, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, published reports, research trips to every region, and information submitted to tipreport@state.”
The US State Department said the report is “a diplomatic tool for the US Government to use as an instrument for continued dialogue and encouragement and as a guide to help focus resources on prosecution, protection, and prevention programs and policies.”
The report said that “governments of countries in Tier 3 may be subject to certain sanctions” which may include withholding non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance. Sanctions, if imposed, will take effect October 1, 2008, said the report.
Countries in the Tier-3 list are “Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so” while those in the Tier-1 list are “Countries whose governments fully comply with TVPA minimum standards.”
US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in the report’s introduction said: “Covering 170 countries, the eighth annual Trafficking in Persons Report is the most comprehensive to date. The report brings to account each nation’s efforts to discover the perpetrators, prosecute the criminals, protect the victims, and ultimately abolish the egregious crime of human trafficking.”
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