Gov’t to ensure action vs. OFW trafficking during pandemic

FILE: Personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) assist overseas Filipino workers heading home to their respective provinces during a send-off at the departure area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on Tuesday (May 26, 2020). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – The government will not let its guard down against human trafficking even during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, an official of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said on Thursday.

In a statement, IACAT officer-in-charge Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Jinky Delumo said the Philippine government will continue working to ensure coordinated action on cases particularly the trafficking of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We will not let the Covid-19 virus slow us down,” Delumo said.

The IACAT announced the launch of its digital case management system for trafficking cases.

Meanwhile, Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar said IACAT aims to send more rogue government officials involved in human trafficking behind bars.

In an online forum and press conference on the occasion of the World Day Against Trafficking, Villar said one of the recommendations under the Global Trafficking in Persons Report “is to get more convictions against complicit government officials”.

“We’ve been working on that to get those convictions and hopefully this year we will be able to achieve that,” she added.

She said that since 2005, there have been a total of 565 persons convicted in human trafficking cases but only five government officials were sentenced.

The Philippines has been Tier 1 in the Global Trafficking in Persons Report from 2016 up to the 2020.

“In fact, in Southeast Asia, we’re the only one to be able to attain Tier 1 ever,” she noted.

She said that during these five years “the government of the Philippines has fully met the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”.

“We’ve successfully managed to retain those efforts for five years. It’s not easy to attain this ranking,” Villar said.