Zamboanga fiscal named anti-human trafficking council chief

MANILA, Philippines – Zamboanga City assistant city prosecutor Darlene Pajarito has been named executive director of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the government’s anti-human trafficking agency.

Pajarito, a known anti-human trafficking advocate and the first executive director of IACAT, was picked by member-agencies and partner non-government organizations of IACAT during a recent meeting led by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

De Lima said Pajarito has the zeal and the competence necessary to get the job done.

“We are sure that we have the right person for the job,” the DOJ said in a statement yesterday.

De Lima earlier designated Pajarito as officer-in-charge of the IACAT after Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar was appointed as head of the Energy Regulatory Board.

“I needed someone with the right passion, attitude and exposure in fighting human trafficking,” she said.

Pajarito thanked the council for trusting her and vowed to do her best.

In 2011, Pajarito received the global trafficking in persons hero’s award from the US state department.

She was the first prosecutor to secure the country’s first conviction on sex trafficking and second conviction on labor trafficking in 2005 and 2011, respectively.