Congress asked to plug loophole in law on human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines - Amendments are currently being sought in a provision within Republic Act 9208 or the “Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law" that makes Filipinos susceptible to illegal recruiters and human traffickers. “Human trafficking victimizing Filipino women and children is on the rise, and a provision in the country’s ‘Anti-Trafficking in Persons law’ itself could be one of the factors aggravating the situation and thus needs amendments," said Senator Jinggoy Estrada, chair of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development in a recent statement. According to RA 9208, trafficking in persons is defined as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, or harboring, or receipt of persons … for the purpose of … exploitation …prostitution … forced labor or services, slavery, servitude, or the removal or sale of organs." But Estrada said the “big loophole" in this law is section 7 titled “Confidentiality." It says that “at any stage of the investigation, prosecution, and trial of an offense, the name and personal circumstances of the trafficked person or of the accused, or any other information tending to establish their identities and such circumstances or information shall not be disclosed to the public." Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, said in a separate statement that the rights of both victims and the accused should be respected. However, she said that because of the confidentiality cause, many accused traffickers, even those that already face a multitude of cases in several courts, have been able to continue with their illegal operation because the public, especially their would-be victims, are not aware of the cases and the identities of the accused. Estrada said that, therefore, RA 9208 should have a “more appropriate safeguard against the offenders’ simply going around the law." He then said that he would review the law and propose amendments to it to make it more effective in combating human trafficking. Ople said that their organization has monitored an increase in the number of victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking that have sought help from their office as well as from government agencies. Meanwhile, non-governmental organization Visayan Forum Foundation said that it had assisted about 32,000 people since 2003 when the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act was made law. So far, there have been only 12 convictions, representing only two percent of the total 573 cases filed by the Department of Justice. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, on the other hand, reported assisting some 6,000 victims of human trafficking since 2003. However, the Asian Development Bank has earlier warned that human trafficking “might significantly rise" due to the global financial crisis. This, it said, was because a large number of people – especially in poor countries – would be seeking better opportunities abroad more aggressively. - GMANews.TV