EDITORIAL - A call to action

Mary Jane Veloso remained on death row as Philippine officials flew to Indonesia yesterday in a continuing effort to save her from execution. The single mother of two, who fled Dubai following an attempted rape and was promised a non-existent job as a maid in Malaysia, is just one of the numerous Filipino victims of human trafficking.

Jakarta deferred Veloso’s execution after her recruiter in the Philippines turned herself in to authorities. This bolstered Veloso’s defense that she was tricked by a crime ring into smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin in her suitcase when she entered Indonesia from Malaysia five years ago.

Legal experts in Indonesia, which has tough laws to deal with a serious drug problem, have warned that the execution may still push through. Veloso is one of tens of Filipinos facing death in several countries for acting as drug mules. China has executed some of the convicts in recent years. The problem is aggravated by the proliferation of human trafficking rings in the Philippines that promise workers like Veloso non-existent jobs abroad, making them vulnerable to recruitment by drug rings.

The US government estimates that global human trafficking, which it likens to modern slavery, is a $150-billion industry. In its 2015 trafficking in persons report, the US State Department has retained the Philippines for the fifth straight year in the Tier 2 list of countries that have not fully complied with minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking, although it has intensified efforts to do so. The US described the report as a call to action.

The US report took note of the conviction of 53 sex traffickers in the Philippines and compliance with several recommendations to fight human trafficking. The Philippine criminal justice system, however, is notoriously slow and inefficient. This emboldens human traffickers to continue preying on the vulnerable, particularly those from impoverished communities or in desperate need to earn a living such as Mary Jane Veloso. The government must do more not only to save her from death but also to prevent more prospective workers from being victimized by human traffickers and suffering the same fate.