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Hontiveros dismayed by gov't anti-human trafficking program budget cuts


Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday was dismayed over the budget cuts to the government's Anti-Trafficking in Persons Enforcement program.

"Bilang sponsor ng Expanded Anti Trafficking Act Of 2022, nakakadismaya ang nakaambang budget cut para sa implementasyon nito. Funding the legislation is as important as passing the law," Hontiveros said in a statement.

(As a sponsor of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking Act of 2022, the cuts to the budget for the implementation of our anti-trafficking program is dismaying. Funding the legislation is as important as passing the law.)

The lawmaker explained that the law enabled authorities to address trafficking cases in the country.

"Yung pagmamanman sa mga human traffickers online, yung entrapment operations para sa mga traffickers, lahat yan nangangailangan ng budget. Maging ang pagkakaroon ng sex offenders registry, dapat may pondo," she said.

(The surveillance of human traffickers online and the entrapment operations would need funding. Even the creation of a sex offenders registry should be funded.)

The minority senator stressed that the effort of the legislative department will go to waste should there be cuts to the program's budget.

"Mababalewala ang nagpaghirapan ng ating mga advocates, pati na rin ng ating mga mambabatas kung itutuloy ang budget cut. Napagtagumpayan na ito sa lehislatura. Sana naman ay mapagtagumpayan rin pagdating sa budget debates," she said.

(The hard work of the advocates, as well as the legislators, will be wasted if we allow these budget cuts. The legislature had declared victory over this. We hope that we will succeed when the budget debates come.)

GMA News Online sought Malacanang's comment on the matter but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

In a previous statement, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called for the allocation of more funds for the government's anti-human trafficking efforts, including online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC).

“Human trafficking is a clear and present danger in our country. It’s still happening right now,” Gatchalian said. “If we can increase the budget just a bit more, so much the better."

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on the Department of Justice's 2023 budget last week, Gatchalian raised the 35% cut in the Anti-Trafficking-in-Persons-Enforcement budget.

Under the 2022 national budget, the program was allocated P90 million, but it was cut to P59 million under the proposed 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) which the Executive Department submitted to Congress.

The lawmaker also asked whether the cut to the budget of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Enforcement program will affect the country's standing in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report.

Justice Undersecretary Nicky Ty said this "could affect our standing because it will put us in a worse position to do our job."

In the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, the Philippines was classified Tier 1, a status it has maintained since 2016.

The US State Department said Tier 1 indicates that "a government has made efforts to address the problem" that meet the "minimum standards" of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Ty said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and the DOJ will need an increased budget to combat human trafficking, online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and other related crimes. — DVM, GMA News

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