VP Binay: US wants PHL to play key role vs trafficking in Asean

The United States wants the Philippines to play a key role against human trafficking in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, Vice President Jejomar Binay said.   Binay, who returned from a working visit to Malaysia and the US, said the message came from Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, chief of the office monitoring compliance with the US State Department's trafficking in persons campaign.   "I gave him a detailed report on the Philippines’ progress in our fight against human trafficking.  Ambassador CdeBaca commended our efforts, and expressed his wish that the Philippines play a key role in promoting the campaign against human trafficking in the ASEAN region," Binay said in a news release on Tuesday.    Binay, presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Concerns, said CdeBaca also extended an invitation to a forthcoming meeting on human trafficking with other leaders of Asia and the Pacific in Yangoon in July 2012.   During his visit to the US, Binay also met with a group of Filipino teachers and professionals who were victims of illegal recruitment by agencies in the Philippines and US.   "I assured them that my office will review their complaints and file the necessary cases against those behind their recruitment," he said.   During his stay in the US, he also had a dialogue with the Filipino communities there. He similarly met with the Filipino community in Malaysia.   "In both Malaysia and the United States, I encouraged our kababayans to help spread the good news about the Philippines, to be proud of being Filipinos, and to show their faith the Philippines by investing in their land of birth," he said. - VVP, GMA News