RP slips in US human trafficking watchlist

[bulaklak 0]

For those who have sisters in Japan who works as a japayuki. what can you say about this news.

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By David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/17/2009 11:15 AM

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The US State Department on Wednesday placed the Philippines in its watchlist of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking.

The State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released since US President Barack Obama took office, said the Philippines is a "source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor."

It said a significant number of Filipino men and women who migrate abroad for work are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in places such as Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

"Filipinas are also trafficked abroad for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Western Europe," the report said.

The US State Department said the Philippines was placed on the Tier 2 watchlist this year for failing to "show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking." The Philippines was previously ranked Tier 2 for the years 2006 to 2008.

"Although there was an increase in the number of trafficking cases filed in court, only four trafficking convictions were obtained under the 2003 anti-trafficking law during the reporting period, and there were no reported labor trafficking convictions, despite widespread reports of Filipinos trafficked for forced labor within the country and abroad," the report said.

It also noted the low number of convictions of sex trafficking offenders in the Philippines "given the significant scope and magnitude of sex trafficking within the country and to destinations abroad."

Inclusion on the watchlist for two consecutive years means that the country can be subject to US sanctions including a ban on non-humanitarian and trade-related aid.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the global financial crisis has increased the worldwide trade in trafficked persons with at least 12.3 million adults and children falling victim to forced and bonded labor and sex slavery each year.

"This is modern slavery, a crime that spans the globe, providing ruthless employers with an endless supply of people to abuse for financial gain. Human trafficking is a crime with many victims: not only those who are trafficked, but also the families they leave behind, some of whom never see their loved ones again," Clinton remarked during the release of the report.

Weak justice system, corruption

The report, meanwhile, said an inefficient judicial system and endemic corruption is hampering the Philippine government's campaign against human trafficking.

"Despite a 2005 Department of Justice circular instructing that all trafficking cases receive preferential attention, trials often take years to conclude because of a lack of judges and courtrooms, high judge turnover, and non-continuous trials, which cause some victims to withdraw their testimony. A high vacancy rate among judges significantly slowed trial times further," the report said.

In 2008, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) filed 318 administrative cases against licensed labor recruiters who used fraudulent and deceptive offers to entice job seekers abroad or imposed inappropriately high or illegal fees on prospective employees. Of the 318, only seven received convictions under the illegal recruitment law in 2008.

The report said corruption among law enforcement agents "remained pervasive, and some law enforcement and immigration officers were complicit in trafficking and permitted organized crime groups involved in trafficking to conduct their illegal activities."

It said that during the reporting period, there were even reports of immigration officials being involved in the trafficking of Filipinos overseas.

It noted that in September 2008, an immigration officer was apprehended for her alleged role in aiding the trafficking of 17 Mindanao children to Syria and Jordan "but charges against her were dropped due to insufficient evidence."

One case, involving a police officer charged with allegedly trafficking minors for commercial sexual exploitation at his night club in Manila, remained pending four years after the charges against the police officer were filed.

The US State Department recommended several steps to boost the Philippine government efforts to fight human trafficking, namely:

- Significantly improve efforts to prosecute, convict, and punish trafficking offenders, including officials complicit in trafficking;

- Dedicate more resources to efforts to prosecute trafficking cases;

- Assess methods to measure and address domestic labor trafficking;

- Implement antitrafficking awareness campaigns directed at domestic and foreign clients of the sex trade in the Philippines;

- Dedicate increased funding for the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and improve anti-trafficking coordination between government agencies;

- Disseminate information on the 2003 law throughout the country; and

- Train law enforcement officers and prosecutors on the use of the 2003 law.

as of 06/17/2009 12:12 PM

[Niels Bohr 72]

Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China, Thailand also are culprits in human trafficking.