Human Trafficking: US notes better effort by RP

The Philippine's accomplishment in fast tracking the handling of cases against human traffickers last year earned a level upgrade from the US State Department Watch List.

The 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US State Department revealed that the Philippines has been removed from the Tier 2 Watch List.

The US State Department annually releases the TIP report wherein it classifies each country depending on the concrete actions taken by its government to combat the trafficking problem.

This developed after the Philippines made discernable progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, particularly in prosecuting human traffickers.

In 2005, according to the TIP report, two cases resulted in the conviction of four individuals for trafficking offenses, with courts handling down life imprisonment sentences to the traffickers and awarding compensation to victims.

Last year, 67 cases were under preliminary investigation and another 31 cases were filed for prosecution under the 2003 anti-trafficking law.

The Department of Justice was also cited for tripling the number of prosecutors handling trafficking cases at the national level and assigned additional prosecutors to focus on trafficking cases at the regional level.

This led to a four-fold increase in the number of investigative cases presented for prosecution under the 20093 Anti-Trafficking Law.

The US data shows that the Philippines had a significant share of over a million Filipino men and women who go overseas each year to work as domestic servants or in the construction and garment industries are subject to conditions of involuntary servitude.

Locally, Cebu and Oriental Negros has been identified as trafficking "hotspots" or a major recruitment ground for victims and potential trafficking of victims. - Ferliza C. Contratista