Stuck

For THE fifth straight year the US State Department has put the Philippines on Tier 2 in its 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, citing the “pervasive corruption” in the government that undermines efforts to eliminate this global scourge.

Despite significant gains on the issue, the Philippines still has to address certain gaps, not least the prosecution of guilty parties, including officials who look the other way or plainly neglect their responsibilities.

Remaining on Tier 2 means the Philippines continues to be on the watch list of countries in danger of dropping to Tier 3, where laggards can be penalized through restricted access to US nonhumanitarian assistance and funding.

Among the other inadequacies cited in the TIP is the trafficked subjects’ lack of access to specialized services, including shelter and protection resources for victims, particularly males. Most damning, according to the report released Monday, is the pervasive corruption in government that has put complicit officials out of reach of the Philippines’ stringent antitrafficking laws.

In fact, “our laws are actually good,” an official of the nongovernment organization Visayan Forum Foundation noted. “Under the law, even if the acts—such as sexual exploitation and forced labor—and the means to traffic persons have not been successfully carried out, the element of intent to exploit the victim is enough to consider the act as human trafficking.”

But the trial process is too slow and the number of convictions too low to discourage malcontents from profiting from this nefarious trade, the NGO official lamented.

Indeed, trafficking for purposes of cheap or unpaid labor as well as sexual slavery has for so long been a festering wound in the national psyche, a script as old and predictable as a telenovela, that one wonders why it remains an attractive option to most young people—and their parents—in the countryside.

But poverty, the lack of opportunities to escape it, and the desperate circumstances that it breeds are a powerful siren song that drowns out better judgment, good sense and the warning constantly aired by concerned sectors.

According to the 2015 TIP, the Philippines is a source country and, to a much lesser extent, a destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.  The 2013 Global Slavery Index estimates that 140,000 to 160,000 Filipinos are enslaved, many of whom are victims of trafficking.

To address the problem, the government has formed the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) headed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. It is tasked to formulate policies and programs aimed at preventing the crime; assist victims in the filing of cases; train personnel to recognize and prevent cases of trafficking; and engage in information and education campaigns on the issue with local governments.

The Iacat includes Ecpat (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes), the NGO representative of the children’s sector, that provides educational assistance to victims and survivors, medical/dental and psychological analysis and treatment, food and shelter, as well as legal and paralegal support.

But why should NGOs assume much of the burden of monitoring, rescuing and rehabilitating trafficking victims? It is the government—with its legal clout and resources—that should take the lead in these instances.

Can the government buckle down to streamlining judicial processes to speed up trials and prosecution? Can it tweak its Conditional Cash Transfer program to include young dropouts who can be drafted into the informal working force? Providing them technical-vocational training can empower them to refuse dubious offers by illegal recruiters. Halfway homes for rescued minors can help as well, and so will outreach programs for parents in remote areas where jobs are hard to come by and children are seen as a convenient way out of poverty—the root cause of this malaise.

Needless to say, good governance, the judicious use of local government funds to spread education and training opportunities evenly, will be an auspicious start.

These initiatives should hopefully get the Philippines out of Tier 2, where it seems to be stuck. Moving up in this global ranking is not just a matter of national pride. The bottom line, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry, is this: “This is no time for complacency. Right now, across the globe, victims of human trafficking are daring to imagine the possibility of escape, the chance for a life without fear, and the opportunity to earn a living wage.”