DOLE: Government ready to curb human trafficking

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured the public yesterday that the government would be able to curb the trafficking of Filipino women and children.

"The Philippine government is not entirely helpless," DOLE information director Nicon Fameronag said, stressing that the concerned government agencies are exerting all efforts to address the problem of human trafficking.

Fameronag made the statement in reaction to a report of the US State Department naming the Philippines as one of 75 countries that do not fully comply with the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so.

Many Filipinos are at risk of falling prey to modern-day slavery due to a strong tradition of seeking better jobs outside the country, the report said.

The US State Department noted that Filipino women are trafficked to destinations across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.

Fameronag said the DOLE is very concerned over the problem of human trafficking, since it affects women and children.

The DOLE, he said, is now implementing stricter recruitment regulations in a bid to control the operations of illegal recruiters and thus prevent human trafficking.

"We are imposing new rules, which aim to professionalize the recruitment industry," he said.

Fameronag also expressed confidence that with the enactment of a new law against human trafficking, the country would soon be able to put an end to the problem.

Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta urged President Arroyo to immediately activate the anti-trafficking task force.

She said Malacañang should immediately craft mechanisms for the effective implementation of Republic Act 9208, the new anti-trafficking law, "to run after violators such as pimps, bar owners who use their establishments as prostitution fronts, and mail-order bride syndicates" to protect women and children from exploitation and abuse.

"With a tough anti-trafficking law recently passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, the government now has an effective weapon against syndicates who exploit our women and children through trafficking," Oreta said.

She noted that a US State Department released earlier tagged the Philippines as a "source and transit point" for trafficking of persons for labor and sexual exploitation.

The same report also said the Philippines has made "commendable efforts to control human trafficking, but its actions remain small in comparison to the scope of the problem" and fall below minimum anti-trafficking standards set by Washington.

RA 9208, according to Oreta, would add teeth to the government’s campaign against human trafficking and complement a related campaign being spearheaded by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Under the anti-trafficking law, bar owners found guilty of using their establishments as prostitution fronts would suffer 15 years in jail and a fine of not more than P1 million.

Aside from providing law enforcers with more muscle to run after mail-order bride syndicates, the anti-trafficking law also punishes pimps and other persons pandering to prostitution with a jail term of up to 20 years and a fine of up to P2 million.

The anti-trafficking law also creates an Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking, chaired by the Department of Justice and co-chaired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Oreta said the inter-agency council also includes the DFA, DOLE, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Bureau of Immigration, Philippine National Police, National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and three non-government organizations representing women, Filipino overseas workers and children.

Aside from co-sponsoring the anti-human trafficking bill, Oreta also helped set up the Comprehensive Women’s Center in Aklan through an P18 million allocation from her share of the Congress’ organizational adjustment fund.

In 1999, she also helped establish the 10-bed Lorenzo Hospital in Malabon, a hospital accredited by Philippine Health Insurance (Philhealth) under supervision of the Department of Health.

Oreta said the Lorenzo Hospital caters to the needs of residents from as far as Obando, Bulacan and offers reproductive health services to women aside from a range of medical, pediatric and surgical procedures. — With Jose Rodel Clapano