Philippines retains Tier 1 ranking vs human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines maintained its Tier 1 ranking for the eighth straight year as it continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to fight human trafficking, according to the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the US State Department.

These efforts include investigating more trafficking crimes, convicting more traffickers, amending its anti-trafficking law, increasing funding for the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and sentencing nearly all traffickers to significant prison terms.

However, the US said the government “did not vigorously investigate or prosecute labor trafficking crimes that occurred within the Philippines.”

“The (Philippine) government identified fewer victims and prosecuted fewer traffickers,” the report added.

The US State Department noted that corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year.

The Philippine government also slightly decreased efforts to protect victims, the report stated.

The government reported identifying 1,277 victims – 740 sex trafficking victims (490 women, 37 men, 148 girls and 65 boys) and 537 labor trafficking victims (119 men and 418 women) – lower than the 1,802 victims identified the previous year.

The Department of Foreign Affairs identified 340 potential trafficking victims abroad, compared with 248 the previous year.

Each year, the government processes approximately 2.3 million employment contracts for Filipinos to work overseas in nearly 170 countries.

The Department of Justice earlier said it wants to use artificial intelligence (AI) in airports to detect potential human trafficking victims.

“We’ll try to see if we can use AI to vet many people who want to leave, especially those prone to trafficking. Some metrics need to be looked at in case we get that. It’s a tool we can use,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking last week. — Neil Jayson Servallos