Philippines: Binay pushes for creation of task force vs human trafficking

ATN - November 19th, 2010

Admitting that human trafficking remains a major problem for the Philippines, Vice President Jejomar Binay has directed various government agencies to form a task force to combat the criminal practice.

Binay, as the President’s adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) concerns, said he has met with officials of six key national agencies about the creation of the task force.

The six are the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The Office of the Vice President will head the task force and will be responsible for the delegation of tasks and recommendations to participating agencies, Binay said in a release.

“Dapat magtulong-tulong tayo at magbahagian ng impormasyon para malabanan natin ang illegal recruitment at human trafficking sa bansa,” he added. (We should help each other and share information in order to curb illegal recruitment and human trafficking in the country.)

The Vice President cited that the Philippines is currently classified as Tier-2 Watch List in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 of the US Department of State.

According to the State Dept. report, “the Philippine government did not show much progress in prosecuting and convicting perpetrators of labor trafficking,” and that the country “does not fully comply with, but is making efforts to meet” the agency’s standards. (See: Philippines remains on US human trafficking watch list)

MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Aquino Honrado admitted that his agency can only stop victims of illegal recruitment from leaving the country, but cannot arrest the illegal recruiters themselves.

“Nahuhuli namin sila bago makaalis pero ayaw nila magfile ng kaso at ayaw din tumestigo so di nahuhuli yung mga illegal recruiters,” he said in the same release. (We are able to catch them before they leave but they don’t want to file a case and they don’t want to testify, so we are unable to arrest the illegal recruiters.)

Binay stressed the government must step up efforts to catch and convict illegal recruiters, to show that it is serious in curbing illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

“Kailangan may maipakulong tayo para matuto sila at malaman nila na seryoso tayo,” he added. (We need to convict some to teach them a lesson and for them to realize that we are serious about this.)

He also pointed out that having 15 agencies involved in airport security impedes accountability.

“Masyadong magulo ang line ng authority sa mga airports natin. Kung maraming ‘heads’ mahirap hanapan ng accountability,” Binay explained. (The lines of authority in our airports are too confusing. When there are too many ‘heads’, it’s hard to locate accountability.)

The vice president also pushed for an OFW lounge in airports, where departing migrant workers can have their documents processed quickly.

Previous task forces

This is not the first task force created by the government to combat human trafficking.

In 2006, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 548 creating a Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment, subsequently amended in 2007 to create a Task Force Against Human Trafficking (TFHT), under the Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

One of TFHT’s tasks is to recommend anti-human trafficking measures to the Inter-Agency Committee Against Trafficking (IACAT), an agency under the Justice Department that oversees the implementation of RA No. 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.

The TFHT can also conduct surveillance and entrapment operations, and direct the arrest and investigation of suspected human traffickers.

While the IACAT remains the main body for implementing RA 9208, the agency has not done well as it has reportedly received a zero operational budget over the years.

In July this year, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima has warned that the Philippines has to score more human trafficking case convictions by 2011, or US could pull out as much as $250 million in aid to the country’s fight against human trafficking. (See: RP in danger of losing $250-M US aid vs trafficking)

The DOJ thus sought increased funding for the IACAT, which De Lima said needs at least P10 million a year to do its work.

Training on anti-human trafficking

For its part, the DFA and the DOJ recently organized a three-day regional training on the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Victims and Prosecution of Offenders Abroad in Kuala Lumpur on November 17-19.

In a separate release, the DFA said some 35 Philippine Embassy officials assigned in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-countries attended the training, including Consular Officers, Labor Attaches, Welfare Attaches and Assistance-to-Nationals Officers.

Other participants included representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Dili (Timor-Leste), the Philippine Consulates-General in Hongkong and Manado (Indonesia), and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (Taiwan).

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos said the training program was designed for capacity-building and coordination among Filipino consular and labor personnel in protecting Filipinos abroad, particularly human-trafficking victims.

Training topics included the following:

• global context of TIP and the role of the foreign service in the prevention and prosecution of TIP;
• a primer on RA 9208 and other related Philippine laws on trafficking, detection and identification and evidence of TIP;
• preparing a sworn statement;
• treatment of victims including assistance and protection; and
• the Philippine anti-trafficking in persons database.