DFA reaffirms human rights pledge, welcomes TIP ‘Tier 1’ ranking
THE Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to promoting and protecting human rights as it welcomed the US Department of State’s 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which places the Philippines in “Tier 1” for the seventh consecutive year.
The US (United States) acknowledges the Philippines’ relentless and comprehensive efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, protect victims, and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous crime, the DFA said.
In a statement, the DFA said the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report is an acknowledgment of the “whole-of-government” approach by the DFA and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (LACAT) in their pursuit to prevent trafficking in persons proactively.
“The Philippine government will continue to work with our partners in civil society and the international community to enhance and improve policies, legislation, and mechanisms to further reduce and eliminate the crime of trafficking in persons,” it added.
Recently, the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the US State Department showed that the Philippines retained for the seventh straight year its Tier 1 ranking for fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
In its report, the State Department said the Philippines continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period amid the impact of COVID-19 on its anti-trafficking capacity.
These efforts included identifying more trafficking victims than in 2020, drafting standard operating procedures for identifying and monitoring trafficking-related corruption cases, and sentencing nearly all traffickers to significant prison terms.
However, the report noted that Manila “failed” to report vigorously probing labor trafficking crimes and holding accountable officials complicit in the crimes.
The US State Department said that while the country increased victim protection efforts, it lacked “a reliable mechanism to consolidate statistics on the total number of victims identified and assisted.”
It also hailed the Philippines’ creation of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) – an agency that will oversee law enforcement action against illegal recruitment agencies.
DMW will support more victims in participating in the criminal process and increasing funding to the interagency anti-trafficking council.
