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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 18 MANILA 000444 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, EAP/MTS, EAP/RSP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
JUSTICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION AND CRIMINAL DIVISION 
DHS FOR ICE, CBP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ASEC ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG RP
 
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINES: INPUT FOR THE 2009 TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 132759 (PREPARING THE NINTH ANNUAL TIP REPORT) 
¶B. 08 MANILA 2366 (ZAMBOANGA COURT CONVICTS HUMAN TRAFFICKER) 
¶C. 08 MANILA 2324 (MANILA AIRPORT OPENS NEW SHELTER FOR TRAFFICKING 
VICTIMS) 
¶D. 08 MANILA 1563 (FIRST TIP CONVICTION IN 2008) 
¶E. 08 MANILA 951 (STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS TO COMBAT TIP) 
¶F. 08 MANILA 333 (ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS IN MINDANAO) 
 
¶1. (U) This cable includes the Mission's input for the 2008 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  The information and statistics 
cover the period from March 2008 to February 2009, unless otherwise 
noted.  The Mission's TIP point of contact is Political Officer 
Michael Pignatello, PignatelloMX@state.gov, tel. (+63)(2) 301-2350, 
fax (+63)(2) 301-2472.  Rank of TIP action officer is FS-03. 
Estimated completion time for report:  SFS officer: 2 hours; FS-01 
officers: 2 hours; FS-02 officers: 8 hours; FS-03 officers: 45 
hours; FSN: 60 hours. 
 
------------------------------------ 
OVERVIEW OF THE COUNTRY'S ACTIVITIES 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) The answers below are keyed to the format contained in ref 
A, para 23: 
 
¶A. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: The Philippine government has no central 
database of trafficking information, but there are plans to 
introduce one in 2009.  Various government agencies and 
non-governmental organizations currently document cases of TIP 
generated from case studies, the number of beneficiaries of programs 
extended to trafficking victims, and actual cases filed or incidents 
reported to law enforcement agencies.  UNICEF supported the 
government's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons 
(IACAT) in its plans to create a database to unify all the data 
maintained by the different government agencies.  During the 
reporting period, IACAT and its partner agencies consolidated 
efforts toward the completion of the database, which is expected to 
be fully operational by June 2009. 
 
Sources of information in the preparation of this report include the 
following Philippine government agencies:  the Department of Foreign 
Affairs (DFA); the Department of Justice (DOJ); the Department of 
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); the Department of Labor and 
Employment (DOLE); the Department of Interior and Local Government 
(DILG); the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); the Bureau of 
Immigration (BI); the Philippine National Police (PNP); the 
Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA); and the National 
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW).  The following 
NGOs also provided significant input:  the Visayan Forum Foundation 
(VFF); The Asia Foundation (TAF); International Justice Mission 
(IJM); Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Asia Pacific 
(CATW-AP); and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP). 
Some information stemmed from media reports. 
 
¶B. TRAFFICKING OVERVIEW: 
 
The Philippines is primarily an origin, and to a lesser extent, a 
destination and transit country of men, women, and children 
trafficked internationally for sexual exploitation and forced labor. 
 In a 2006 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report 
on global patterns of trafficking, the Philippines ranked "high" in 
the citation index as a country of origin of trafficked persons. 
Trafficking also occurs within the country's borders.  Estimates of 
various non-government and international organizations vary 
significantly -- some putting the number of Philippine citizens 
trafficked internally, into Southeast Asia, and beyond, at thousands 
each year.  Aside from working in the commercial sex industry, many 
trafficked persons work as domestic servants, as well as in unsafe 
and exploitative industries as forced labor. 
 
Foreign trafficking rings brought the victims to destinations 
throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Africa. 
 In 2008, foreign service posts of the Philippine Department of 
Foreign Affairs reported that the majority of trafficking victims 
rescued were from Malaysia and Singapore, while a smaller number of 
 
MANILA 00000444  002 OF 018 
 
 
victims were rescued from Brunei, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Saipan, South 
Africa, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates.  The Philippines was 
only occasionally a destination point for internationally trafficked 
individuals.  Anecdotal reports indicated evidence of trafficking of 
women into the Philippines from China, Eastern Europe, and Russia 
for the purpose of sexual exploitation.  International organized 
crime gangs also transited trafficked persons from mainland China 
through the Philippines to third country destinations. 
 
Women face a far greater risk of becoming victims of trafficking 
than men, and girls are more at risk than boys.  Trafficking in 
children is generally internal: children and young women from poor 
farming communities in the Visayas (the central Philippines) and 
Mindanao (the southern Philippines) are brought to major urban 
centers and employed as domestic helpers, factory workers, or 
prostitutes.  Ethnic minorities, migrant workers, and other socially 
marginalized groups are more at risk than other groups due to the 
high prevalence of poverty among them. 
 
In 2008, law enforcement agencies reported 168 alleged trafficking 
cases to the Department of Justice, leading prosecutors to file 97 
cases in court, compared to 59 the prior year.  The Department of 
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided services to 366 
victims of trafficking or potential victims of trafficking, 220 
victims of prostitution, 136 victims of child labor, and 67 victims 
of pedophilia or child pornography, compared to the provision of 
services to a total of only 158 victims in 2007.  Philippine Foreign 
Service Posts reported a total of 74 cases of trafficking involving 
217 victims.  The NGO Visayan Forum Foundation, aided by its 
significant network expansion during the reporting period, 
intercepted 17,938 potential victims of trafficking at major 
seaports in the country and on seafaring vessels, ultimately leading 
to the rescue approximately 2,500 trafficking victims, 66 percent 
more than the 1,512 serviced by VFF in 2007. 
 
The Philippines has a large, impoverished, relatively uneducated, 
and culturally diverse population, spread across thousands of 
islands, many of which experience annual, large-scale natural 
disasters, holding back farmers and urban poor from an ever-elusive 
prosperity.  Geographical barriers, the remoteness of some rural 
communities, and the lack of infrastructure have for decades impeded 
the provision of basic government services to millions of Filipinos. 
 An ineffective judiciary, with its huge caseloads, limited 
resources, significant judgeship vacancy rate, and grossly 
inefficient procedures, must still dispense justice.  All these 
factors combine to make the Philippines a ripe location for human 
trafficking; these same factors also make human trafficking in the 
Philippines an extraordinary challenge to overcome. 
 
However, within this difficult environment, the Philippine 
government has persistently mobilized resources to combat 
trafficking in a manner unparalleled on any other human rights issue 
faced by the country.  Through the initiative of forward-thinking 
government agencies and dedicated bureaucrats, government bodies at 
the national, regional, provincial, and local levels are 
increasingly focused on anti-trafficking efforts, through 
anti-trafficking councils, law enforcement task forces, and other 
mechanisms.  Despite limited resources, the Philippine government on 
the whole has demonstrated resilience and creativity in improving 
awareness of human trafficking, expanding prevention activities, and 
protecting victims.  The following highlights from 2008 represent 
the government's continued commitment to fight trafficking: 
 
-- The creation of a new interagency, anti-illegal recruitment task 
force, led by the Vice President; 
 
-- The filing of 97 trafficking cases under the anti-TIP law by the 
Department of Justice, compared to just 59 cases filed in 2007, a 64 
percent increase in cases filed; 
 
-- A 150 percent increase over 2007 in the number of 
anti-trafficking agreements signed with local government units; 
 
-- The drafting of model ordinances to be used by local government 
units in combating TIP and protecting the rights of trafficked 
 
MANILA 00000444  003 OF 018 
 
 
children; and 
 
-- The filing of the government's first anti-TIP case on foreign 
soil, against a Singapore national who trafficked hundreds of 
Filipinas to Malaysia. 
 
While there was no increase in the number of trafficking convictions 
over last year, it is essential to broaden the view of the 
Philippines' achievements beyond the simple counting of convictions. 
 We are aware that much work remains to be done on TIP in the 
Philippines; there is no shortage of areas for improvement. 
However, even as Post repeatedly calls on the government to do more 
to stop human trafficking and to increase convictions, we must also 
recognize that tremendous progress continues to be made. 
 
¶C. UNDERSTANDING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE PHILIPPINES: Endemic 
poverty, a high unemployment and underemployment rate, a cultural 
propensity to seek higher living standards elsewhere, a weak rule of 
law environment, and a flourishing sex tourism industry all 
contributed to the continuation of trafficking in the Philippines. 
Persons were trafficked from poor, rural areas throughout the 
Philippines to major urban areas within the country, especially 
Metro Manila and Cebu, but also increasingly to cities in Mindanao. 
A significant percentage of the victims of internal trafficking were 
from the Visayas and Mindanao and were fleeing poverty or violence. 
Following clashes between the military and the separatist group Moro 
Islamic Liberation Front that began in August, the Visayan Forum 
Foundation reported an increase in the number of women and children 
in Mindanao being trafficked for domestic work.  In 2008, 56 percent 
of the trafficking victims rescued by the Visayan Forum were from 
Mindanao.  Victims of internal trafficking work as domestic servants 
or small-factory workers, as well as in the drug trade and in the 
commercial sex industry.  They were often subject to violence, 
threats, debt bondage, inhumane living conditions, non-payment of 
salaries, and withholding of documents. 
 
¶D. VULNERABILITY TO TIP: Traffickers most often targeted the 
multitudes of workers seeking overseas and urban employment.  About 
1.3 million Philippine workers departed the country to engage in 
temporary overseas work assignments in all parts of the world in 
2008, leaving at the rate of 3,000 to 3,800 per day.  An estimated 
11 percent of Gross Domestic Product came from workers' remittances. 
 The most common recruits for trafficking were girls and young women 
aged 13 to 30 from rural areas, mainly from impoverished families. 
Girls from ethnic minorities as young as ten years old also ended up 
as commercial sex workers. 
 
¶E. TRAFFICKERS AND THEIR METHODS: Traffickers usually sent female 
recruiters to their own neighborhoods or villages to recruit friends 
or relatives, providing the victims a false sense of security. 
Traffickers often masqueraded as private employment recruiters, 
while actually cooperating with organized crime rings.  The most 
common method to approach victims was to promise respectable and 
lucrative jobs with good benefits, such as free room and board, 
transportation, and cash advances.  Parents and guardians were often 
supportive, believing that work abroad is the key to ascending the 
socio-economic ladder. 
 
NGOs suggested that organized crime syndicates, including syndicates 
from Japan, were heavily involved in the sex industry in Manila. 
Employment agencies were involved in much of the trafficking both 
within the country and to overseas destinations.  They may also have 
had a role in trafficking of persons into the country.  Some of 
these agencies may have also undertaken legitimate recruitment of 
personnel, making it particularly challenging to identify illegal 
recruitment, as the line between legitimate and illegitimate 
agencies was blurred.  Other recruiters may have been relatives or 
neighbors, while some parents and guardians sold their children into 
bondage.  In many cases, trafficking syndicates used women in their 
mid-40s or older to seek out victims, feeding many victims' 
perception that older women were less likely to harm them. 
 
Traffickers used land and sea transportation to transfer victims 
from island provinces to major cities within the country.  The 
system of ferries and barges connecting the islands from Mindanao to 
 
MANILA 00000444  004 OF 018 
 
 
Luzon was the most common and cheapest mode of travel used by 
traffickers to transport victims.  Traffickers also took advantage 
of budget airline carriers to transport victims out of the country. 
Traffickers used fake travel documents, falsified permits, and 
altered birth certificates. 
 
----------------------------- 
GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶A. GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE PROBLEM:  The government 
acknowledges trafficking as a serious problem and actively took 
steps to combat trafficking in the country.  President Arroyo and 
her administration frequently spoke out in public about the harms of 
trafficking and the efforts of the government to combat TIP, making 
clear the government has zero tolerance for TIP in any form.  Senior 
officials also stressed that the government would not condone 
official complicity in such trafficking.  Several cabinet-level 
agencies and sub-agencies actively worked to combat trafficking in 
the Philippines. 
 
Calling more attention to the issue of human trafficking and illegal 
recruitment, President Arroyo appointed Vice President Noli De 
Castro in October to lead a new interagency anti-illegal recruitment 
task force to arrest recruiters who victimize overseas-bound 
Filipinos (see paragraph 6.C below). 
 
¶B. AGENCIES INVOLVED IN ANTI-TIP WORK: The Inter-Agency Council 
Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT) coordinated, monitored, and 
oversaw the implementation of the anti-trafficking law (Republic Act 
9208 of 2003), and served as an umbrella organization to coordinate 
anti-TIP efforts.  The Secretaries of Justice and of Social Welfare 
and Development co-chaired the IACAT.  Other member agencies 
included Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Labor and 
Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, National 
Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, National Bureau of 
Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine National 
Police.  Three non-government organizations representing women, 
children, and overseas workers were also part of the IACAT. 
 
Government agencies' efforts to combat human trafficking included: 
 
-- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) extended assistance to 
victims of trafficking abroad and oversaw the voluntary repatriation 
of victims.  It acted as the central coordinating unit for all 
bilateral, regional, and multilateral efforts.  The DFA's Commission 
on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) chairs the interagency Presidential Task 
Force on Human Trafficking which conducts surveillance and 
entrapment operations in coordination with law enforcement and 
immigration agencies, conducts community education, and provides 
legal and psycho-social services to trafficking victims.  CFO also 
assists in the filing of cases against traffickers.  In coordination 
with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the DFA, through its 
Philippine embassies, took the lead in protecting the rights of 
migrant workers abroad.  Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs), 
the overseas operating arm of DOLE, were under the supervision of 
the Philippine Chief of Mission or Ambassador. 
 
-- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) focused 
on the protection of victims and was the responsible agency for the 
social reintegration of victims of trafficking.  DSWD operated 42 
temporary shelters for victims of abuse throughout the country, 
including for victims of human trafficking.  In addition to DSWD's 
services within the Philippines, social workers were deployed to the 
Philippine diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, 
Tokyo, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City, and Riyadh to provide 
psycho-social counseling to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in 
distress. These social workers coordinated the provision of services 
with POLOs. 
 
-- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was responsible for 
coordinating the government's campaign against illegal recruitment, 
and for maintaining records of overseas Filipino workers.  It 
ensured the strict implementation of, and compliance with, the rules 
and guidelines on the employment of persons locally and overseas. 
 
MANILA 00000444  005 OF 018 
 
 
DOLE conducted outreach activities across the country to discourage 
business owners from employing children.  It also monitored, 
documented, and reported cases of trafficking in persons involving 
employers and labor recruiters.  DOLE led the "Sagip Batang 
Manggagawa" (Rescue the Child Workers, or SBM) program, an 
interagency quick action mechanism composed of DOLE, Philippine 
National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and 
DSWD.  DOLE officers worked as labor attaches at Philippine 
diplomatic missions and spent much of their time assisting overseas 
workers.  Thirty-nine labor attaches served at thirty-four POLOs 
around the world at Philippine diplomatic missions. 
 
-- The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached 
agency of DOLE, had responsibility for protecting overseas workers 
and their dependents.  It provided counseling and legal assistance 
programs to overseas workers and conducted information dissemination 
and awareness campaigns on living and working overseas.  In 
countries with large numbers of OFWs, an OWWA officer often served 
as Assistant Labor Attache. 
 
-- The Department of Justice was responsible for protecting the 
rights of victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers.  It 
also offered free legal assistance for trafficked persons in 
coordination with the DSWD and NGOs.  After the passage of the 
anti-trafficking law in May 2003, DOJ established the Task Force on 
Anti-Trafficking in Persons.  The DOJ has assigned responsibility to 
20 prosecutors who, in addition to their regular workloads, handle 
the preliminary investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases 
at the national level.  Approximately 95 prosecutors in regional, 
provincial, and municipal DOJ offices also handle cases of 
trafficking in persons.  DOJ continued to lead the government's 
anti-trafficking efforts, with the Secretary of Justice acting as 
Chair of the government's anti-TIP coordinating body, the 
Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT). 
 
-- The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine 
National Police (PNP), and the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) 
worked to identify, investigate, and dismantle trafficking 
operations and prosecute offenders.  The NBI created a task force 
focused solely on investigating trafficking allegations, a task 
force on the protection of women against exploitation and abuse, and 
a task force on the protection of children from exploitation and 
abuse. 
 
-- The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) conducted 
systematic information and prevention campaigns and, together with 
NAPOLCOM, created a databank in January 2008 for the efficient 
monitoring, documentation, and prosecution of cases, including 
trafficking. 
 
-- The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) 
implemented national development plans for women and provided 
technical assistance to strengthen government's response to gender 
issues.  It formulated and monitored policies on trafficking in 
persons in coordination with relevant government agencies.  At the 
time of this report, NCRFW was conducting research on the demand for 
commercial sex.  It was also preparing a definitive guide for 
government agencies on the protection of trafficking victims, 
scheduled for review by the IACAT in March 2009. 
 
-- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) administered and enforced 
immigration and alien administration laws while adopting measures to 
apprehend suspected international traffickers at key entry and exit 
points.  It ensured that Filipinos engaged or married to foreign 
nationals complied with the guidance and counseling requirements in 
the anti-trafficking law.  BI also controlled and monitored border 
points by deploying deputized marines to help enforce immigration 
laws. 
 
-- The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), 
affiliated with DOLE, was the primary administrator of licenses for 
recruitment agencies, which cannot solicit employees for overseas 
work without the permission of POEA.  POEA had authority to place on 
probation or bar from recruiting new workers any agencies in 
violation of POEA standards.  POEA also administered pre-employment 
 
MANILA 00000444  006 OF 018 
 
 
orientation seminars and pre-departure counseling programs to 
applicants for overseas employment.  An average of 3,000 citizens 
visited POEA's main office each day to seek overseas employment. 
POEA trained diplomatic staff, overseas labor officers, and social 
welfare officers in methods for assisting trafficking victims 
abroad.  It also provided free legal assistance to trafficking 
victims.  In December 2006, POEA issued new employment requirements 
for overseas Filipino household workers better to protect them from 
widespread employer abuse and human trafficking.  The new 
requirements increased the monthly minimum wage from 200 to 400 USD 
and raised the minimum age of eligibility from 18 to 23. 
 
-- Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) collected 
information for the effective monitoring, documentation, and 
prosecution of trafficking cases of foreign nationals. 
 
¶C. LIMITATIONS ON GOVERNMENT EFFORTS: The Philippines remains one of 
the poorest countries in Asia.  The government's ability to address 
the trafficking problem and provide assistance to its victims 
remained limited by inadequate resources, including for police. 
Corruption in the government and the general ineffectiveness of the 
judicial system were also factors that impeded the government's 
ability to prosecute trafficking cases.  The lack of resources and 
high judgeship vacancy rate in the judiciary significantly slowed 
trial times.  A 2005 UN Development Program (UNDP) and Philippine 
Supreme Court study found that the average trial takes over three 
years; in practice, many trials take longer.  Some government 
agencies and offices have not yet fully implemented the 2003 
anti-trafficking law due to lack of training and orientation on the 
scope and magnitude of the problem. 
 
National and international NGOs and other foreign donors (including 
the USG) complemented official government programs.  NGOs focused 
anti-trafficking resources primarily on prevention and protection 
for overseas Filipino workers.  The strongest efforts existed in the 
areas of helping to prevent persons from becoming victims, 
repatriating victims in destination countries, and reintegrating 
them into Philippine society upon their return home. 
 
¶D. MONITORING ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS: The government had no 
central database of trafficking information, but IACAT planned to 
introduce a comprehensive national database in June 2009 in a 
UNICEF-sponsored project.  Several agencies maintained their own 
separate databases, but many of these databases did not focus 
exclusively on trafficking.  The Philippine Center on Transnational 
Crime (PCTC) collected information on transnational crime 
activities, but its records were not comprehensive.  The Commission 
on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), an attached agency of the DFA, 
developed a database to monitor legal problems involving Filipinos 
overseas, but its system was not restricted to trafficking and also 
generated reports on other cases such as domestic violence and human 
smuggling.  The CFO plans to integrate this information into a 
shared government database on migration.  The National Police 
Commission (NAPOLCOM) maintained a database of national crime 
statistics, including trafficking cases, based on the quarterly 
reports from PNP.  As of this report writing, only one-fifth of 
nationwide criminal cases had been entered into the system.  The 
system is not yet a reliable source of trafficking data. 
 
The IACAT and government task forces involved in anti-TIP activities 
met regularly to share information and coordinate policies. 
Government officials also met regularly with concerned NGOs, foreign 
donors, embassies, and regional and international organizations to 
share information and assessments, but all agreed solid data about 
the extent of the problem remained difficult to obtain. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The answers below are keyed to the format contained in ref 
A, para 25. 
 
¶A. EXISTING LAWS AGAINST TIP: The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 
2003 (Republic Act 9208) is the Philippines' landmark legislation to 
 
MANILA 00000444  007 OF 018 
 
 
protect women and children from sexual exploitation and forced 
labor.  The law affirmed the government's resolve to prevent and 
suppress the illegal trade in persons, especially women and 
children, and carried penalties not only against traffickers but 
also against users or buyers of victims.  Under the law, the 
recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a 
minor for the purpose of exploitation was enough to file a case 
against a trafficker.  It is not necessary to show that such acts 
were made through threats, use of force, or other coercive measures. 
 The law penalizes both internal and transnational trafficking. 
 
In addition to the anti-trafficking law, the government used several 
laws to prosecute traffickers, including: the Migrant Workers and 
Overseas Filipinos Act (Republic Act 8042), which gave the 
government the authority to combat illegal recruiting; the 
Mail-Order Bride Law (Republic Act 6955), which made it unlawful for 
foreign men to marry Filipino women for the purpose of exploitation; 
the Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8043), which 
sought to protect Filipino children from abuse, exploitation, 
trafficking, and/or sale; the Special Protection of Children Against 
Child Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act (Republic Act 
7610), which established penalties for child exploitation, including 
child trafficking; and the Anti-Child Labor Law (Republic Act 9231), 
which guaranteed the protection, health, and safety of child workers 
guaranteed the protection, health, and safety of child workers and 
prohibited the employment of children below the age of 15, except 
when granted special permission by DOLE. 
 
¶B. PUNISHMENT OF SEX TRAFFICKING OFFENSES: The Anti-Trafficking in 
Persons Act of 2003 imposed harsh penalties on persons engaged in 
trafficking for sexual exploitation.  The law distinguished between 
three types of violations: direct participation in trafficking; acts 
that promoted trafficking; and more serious acts of trafficking, 
called "qualified" trafficking.  The penalty for a direct act was a 
fine of P1 million to P2 million (20,777 to 41,554 USD) and up to 20 
years imprisonment.  Promotion of trafficking through falsification 
of documents and tampering with certificates carried up to 15 years 
imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P1 million (10,388 to 20,777 
USD).  The maximum penalty applied where the victim was a child, 
trafficking was conducted on a large scale, or the crime involved 
military or law enforcement agencies and public officers or 
employees, resulting in life imprisonment and a fine of P2 million 
to P5 million (41,554 to 103,385 USD).  Those who engaged the 
services of trafficked persons for prostitution faced penalties of 
between six months of community service and a fine of P50,000 (1,039 
USD) to a maximum of one year imprisonment and a fine of P100,000 
(2,078 USD). 
 
The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 law prescribes the same 
penalties for trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation, 
prostitution, pornography, forced labor, slavery, involuntary 
servitude, or debt bondage. 
 
¶C. PUNISHMENT FOR LABOR TRAFFICKING OFFENSES: The anti-trafficking 
law clearly states it is illegal to recruit, transport, transfer, 
harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including under 
the pretext of domestic or overseas employment, training, or 
apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual 
exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt 
bondage.  Activities that promoted or facilitated trafficking could 
result in imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine between P500,000 
to P1 million (10,388 to 20,777 USD).  There have been no 
convictions for trafficking for forced labor. 
 
The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 (Republic Act 
8042) regulates the recruitment and deployment of Filipinos for 
overseas work.  The law imposes a jail term of six to 12 years and a 
fine of P200,000 to P500,000 (4,155 to 10,388 USD) for recruiters 
and placement agencies that are not registered with the POEA, and 
for recruiters, whether registered or not, who place workers in jobs 
harmful to health and morality, or alter employment contracts to the 
detriment of the worker. 
 
In 2008, POEA filed 318 administrative cases against licensed labor 
recruiters who used fraudulent and deceptive offers to entice 
 
MANILA 00000444  008 OF 018 
 
 
jobseekers or imposed inappropriately high or illegal fees on 
prospective employees.  During the reporting period, the Supreme 
Court and the local courts of the cities of Makati, Baguio, Malolos, 
and San Fernando issued convictions for illegal recruitment in seven 
POEA-endorsed and monitored cases. 
 
¶D. PENALTIES FOR RAPE OR SEXUAL ASSAULT: Under the Anti-Rape Law of 
1997 (Republic Act 8353), the penalty for rape is life imprisonment. 
 Under the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7877), 
any person who is convicted of violating the provisions of the Act 
shall face imprisonment of not less than one month and no more than 
six months, be fined up to P20,000 (415 USD), or face both a fine 
and imprisonment. 
 
¶E. LAW ENFORCEMENT STATISTICS:  Since the passage of the 2003 
anti-trafficking law, the Department of Justice has convicted 12 
people under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.  The 
government made progress in combating trafficking in 2008, 
particularly in the areas of law enforcement coordination and victim 
protection and assistance.  In 2008, law enforcement agencies 
reported 168 new trafficking cases to DOJ for review.  Of these, 97 
were filed in court as trafficking cases, compared to only 59 cases 
filed in court in 2007.  Of the other cases received by DOJ in 2008, 
3 were filed in court as violations of other related penal laws, 35 
were pending preliminary investigation, 29 cases were dropped or 
dismissed, and one case was archived due to lack of progress on the 
investigation.  Since 2003, DOJ has filed in court a total of 288 
cases of human trafficking, of which one-third were filed in 2008. 
 
During the reporting period, Philippine courts convicted four 
individuals in three cases under the 2003 anti-trafficking law.  One 
trafficker received a life sentence after the courts found her 
guilty of "qualified trafficking" of minors for prostitution, while 
the traffickers in the other cases were each sentenced to 20 years 
in prison.  In the June 30 ruling in Batangas City, the judge also 
ordered the trafficker to pay a fine of 50,000 USD.  The judges in 
the October 10 ruling in Zamboanga City and in the November 27 
ruling in Paranaque City ordered the traffickers to pay fines of 
25,000 USD.  The convicted traffickers all remained in jail serving 
their sentences, including two of the traffickers who are appealing 
their convictions. 
 
Despite the DOJ's intensified efforts to prosecute and convict 
traffickers, the majority of cases continued to drag because of an 
overburdened judicial system.  The judicial process on average takes 
three years from the filing of charges to resolution of a case. 
 
Under certain circumstances and with approval of the court, 
Philippine law permitted private attorneys to prosecute cases under 
the direction and control of a public prosecutor.  These "private 
prosecutors" serve on behalf of the victims in court proceedings. 
The government used this provision effectively, allowing and 
supporting International Justice Mission (IJM) and other NGOs that 
provide legal assistance to investigate and prosecute trafficking 
cases.  IJM's two offices in Manila and Cebu filed a total of 21 new 
criminal cases of trafficking in 2008 and had more than 50 cases in 
various stages of arraignment or trial.  Three of the four 
nationwide trafficking convictions in 2008 were a result of cases by 
filed by IJM for the victims in two separate cases of human 
trafficking. 
 
The government actively investigated cases of trafficking-related 
offenses, but was hampered by scarce resources.  The principal 
investigative agencies were BI, NBI, and PNP.  At PNP, the Criminal 
Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Women and 
Children's Concerns Division handled most trafficking cases.  In 
2008, PNP investigated 55 cases of trafficking involving women and 
children.  Of these, 18 cases were filed in court and 37 were filed 
with prosecutors' offices to undergo preliminary investigation. 
 
The Philippine Center for Transnational Crime investigated six cases 
of trafficking involving 24 victims.  One case was referred to the 
local prosecutor for further investigation.  The NBI's Anti-Human 
Trafficking Division investigated 130 complaints of trafficking, of 
which 112 were under investigation and seven were filed with DOJ for 
 
MANILA 00000444  009 OF 018 
 
 
potential prosecution.  The BI ensured that all foreign nationals 
within its territorial jurisdiction complied with existing laws to 
ensure the protection of women and children against commercial 
sexual exploitation.  BI's interceptions at Philippine airports were 
typically referred to NBI for further investigation. 
 
Other government agencies also investigated cases of trafficking. 
During the reporting period, the Task Force Against Trafficking at 
Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila assisted a total of 37 
trafficked victims from Malaysia, Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and 
Syria.  Twenty four of the victims filed complaints with the police 
and the NBI.  The POEA assisted trafficking victims in the proper 
filing of cases in court, filing four cases of trafficking, two 
cases of forced labor, and two cases of commercial sexual 
exploitation.  POEA assisted in the arrest of approximately 90 
individuals involved in illegal recruitment, representing a 300 
percent increase in POEA-assisted arrests over the prior year.  DOLE 
conducted 17 rescue operations involving 25 minors, 19 of whom were 
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and the rest for 
forced labor. 
 
According to the POEA, criminal cases against traffickers and 
illegal recruiters were assisted by an improved intelligence network 
at the barangay level, in part achieved through a significant 
expansion of POEA training to Public Employment Service Managers in 
communities throughout the country (see paragraph F below). 
 
¶F. TRAINING FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Government agencies continued 
to increase the frequency of TIP training and orientation efforts. 
Programs included training for thousands of officials, including 
prosecutors, judges, NBI investigators, local government units, and 
city councilors.  In March 2008, the IACAT, with the support from 
USAID's Rule of Law Effectiveness Program, and through the Filipino 
Initiative Against Trafficking in Northern Mindanao (Caraga Region), 
conducted a series of activities including training of prosecutors, 
law enforcers and social workers, on effective coordination in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.  The USG, 
UNICEF, and other donors also supported training of police officers 
and prosecutors.  IACAT also conducted UNICEF-supported training for 
prosecutors in December 2008. 
 
In 2008 POEA signed 130 memorandums of agreement with local 
government units across the country and trained local officials and 
Public Employment Service Managers how to educate Filipinos on 
seeking overseas employment, including identifying the warning signs 
of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.  The number of 
memorandums signed in 2008 represents a 150 percent increase over 
the number of memorandums signed in 2007.  Officials in communities 
that do not yet have agreements with POEA actively seek out POEA's 
popular training program. 
 
The PCTC conducted training on upgrading its personnel's skills in 
combating transnational crimes, including trafficking. 
 
¶G. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION: The government cooperated with other 
countries in the investigation and prosecution of TIP cases, 
particularly in cases with Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New 
Zealand, and the United States.  In November 2008, IACAT filed 
criminal charges for trafficking against a Singaporean recruiter, 
Lim Beng Wat, who is based in Kuala Lumpur.  The suspect was said to 
have victimized hundreds of Filipino women who were promised work in 
Malaysia but ended up as slaves and were sexually exploited and 
maltreated.  This is the first attempt of the Philippine government 
to initiate a case of human trafficking against a foreign national 
and the first Philippines' case to be prosecuted on foreign soil. 
The number of cooperative international investigations on 
trafficking was not available because there was no central database 
linking the various law enforcement agencies.  The Philippines had 
treaties on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters with 
Australia and the United States.  The Philippines was also a 
signatory to the ASEAN Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to share 
information and evidence among ASEAN member-states. 
 
The Philippines participated in other international efforts to 
prevent, monitor, and control trafficking.  DSWD is one of the 
 
MANILA 00000444  010 OF 018 
 
 
partner agencies in the implementation of an International Labour 
Organization (ILO) trafficking project that addresses the lack of 
systematic documentation of trafficked victims, absence of an 
effective referral system, and inadequate competencies of service 
providers in recovery and reintegration services for victims. 
 
Philippine law enforcement agencies actively cooperate with U.S. 
Mission officials on investigations of visa fraud schemes 
perpetrated by fixers, smugglers, and human traffickers.  A typical 
baiting scheme involves Filipino nurses who pay a fee to an agency 
that guarantees them high-paying nursing work in the U.S.  Upon 
arrival in the U.S., they are told there are no nursing jobs and are 
instead given work as nursing attendants or nurses' aides caring for 
the elderly, at salaries that are dramatically lower than what they 
were offered.  In other schemes, recruiters will charge low fees to 
find high-paying work in the U.S. for unskilled Filipinas.  Upon 
arrival in the U.S., these women are told they have accrued 
significant debts and are coerced into commercial sex in massage 
parlors or as escorts to repay these "debts." 
 
¶H. EXTRADITIONS: Philippine law permits extradition, and the 
Philippines had extradition treaties with Australia, Canada, the 
Federated States of Micronesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Republic of 
Korea, Switzerland, Thailand , and the United States.  Under the 
terms of the 2003 anti-trafficking law, trafficking in persons is 
considered an extraditable offense.  However, the government 
received no extradition requests for trafficking offenders, foreign 
or national, during the reporting period. 
 
¶I. GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT AND/OR TOLERANCE: Government officials at 
all levels publicly stated their commitment to combat trafficking in 
the Philippines.  While there was no evidence that the government, 
as an institution, tolerated, permitted or allowed trafficking 
crimes, widespread corruption at all levels of government permitted 
many organized crime groups, including traffickers, to conduct their 
illegal activities.  Corruption among law enforcement agents 
remained pervasive.  At the street level, it was not uncommon for 
officers to demand petty bribes for minor offenses, real or alleged. 
 Law enforcement officers often extracted protection money in 
exchange for permitting businesses to conduct legitimate operations 
without necessary permits, or for illegitimate businesses, such as 
brothel owners or gambling and drug lords.  It is widely believed 
that some government officials are involved in, or at least permit, 
trafficking operations within the country. 
 
¶J. EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS FOR 
INVOLVEMENT IN TRAFFICKING:  In February 2007, the Task Force 
Against Trafficking at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport 
(NAIA), an inter-agency task force composed of DOJ, BI, Customs, 
Airport Police and the Manila International Airport Authority, was 
formed to combat trafficking at the airport by intercepting 
undocumented passengers, assisting trafficking victims, and 
monitoring reported involvement of airport personnel.  On September 
17, an officer of the Bureau of Immigration at Ninoy Aquino 
International Airport was apprehended for her alleged role in aiding 
the trafficking of 17 Mindanao minors to Syria and Jordan.  On 
October 22, a city prosecutor dismissed the charge against the 
officer for insufficient evidence, but filed trafficking charges 
against two accomplices.  Because of reports of alleged collusion of 
government officials and immigration employees with organized 
trafficking syndicates, the Bureau of Immigration instituted a 
number of preventive measures at the airports, including prohibition 
of immigration officers from carrying mobile phones on duty and 
regular rotation of officers at assigned counters.  The case of 
police officer Dennis Reci, charged in June 2005 for allegedly 
trafficking minors for sexual exploitation at his nightclub in 
Manila, was still ongoing at the time of this report.  Reci remained 
under detention. 
 
In January 2009, the Office of the Ombudsman formalized the 
Tanodbayan (Ombudsman) Against Government Employees Involved in 
Trafficking (TARGET), composed of special investigators and 
prosecutors tasked to investigate cases against government officials 
engaged in trafficking in persons or trafficking-related corruption. 
 The Office of the Ombudsman conducted a study to identify areas 
 
MANILA 00000444  011 OF 018 
 
 
where government procedures were particularly vulnerable to 
corruption and human trafficking, and expressed commitment to 
investigate enforcement gaps.  During the reporting period, TARGET 
conducted fact-finding investigations on four government personnel 
allegedly involved in trafficking cases. 
 
¶K. PROSTITUTION. Prostitution is illegal and the activities of a 
prostitute are criminalized.  Individuals engaged in the business of 
prostitution, such as the brothel owners/operators and pimps, also 
have criminal liability, but these laws are rarely enforced.  There 
are no criminal laws specifically penalizing the clients of 
prostitutes.  Various anti-prostitution bills that would penalize 
customers and define prostitution as exploitation remained pending 
in both houses of Congress. 
 
¶L. INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING TROOPS: The Philippines has deployed a 
total of 626 military and police personnel in United Nations 
peacekeeping missions.  During the reporting period, there were no 
reports of Philippine peacekeepers engaging in or facilitating 
trafficking. 
 
¶M. CHILD SEX TOURISM: Child sex tourism continued to be a serious 
problem for the Philippines.  Sex tourists reportedly came from 
Asia, Europe, and North America to engage in sexual activity with 
minors.  In 2008, the Bureau of Immigration deported 10 foreign sex 
offenders and pedophiles.  The government also cooperated with the 
U.S. in prosecuting American nationals under the terms of the U.S. 
PROTECT Act of 2003, which criminalized the commission of child 
abuse by American nationals overseas, including child pornography 
and other sexual offenses against a minor.  At the end of the 
reporting period, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security had a total of 17 PROTECT Act 
cases in collaboration with the Philippine government.  Of the 17 
cases, three were pending prosecution in the Philippines, including 
one case of trafficking; one case was pending in California; five 
other cases were under investigation; and eight were closed with no 
further action. 
 
------------------------------------ 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) The answers below are keyed to the format contained in ref 
A, para 26. 
 
¶A. VICTIM AND WITNESS PROTECTION: Under the Witness Protection, 
Security, and Benefit Program, the DOJ offered protection to 
witnesses from reprisals and economic dislocation by providing 
security protection, immunity from criminal prosecution, housing, 
livelihood expenses, travel expenses, medical benefits, education 
for dependents, and job security.  Due to lack of resources to fund 
the program, many who would have liked to participate could not, 
and, according to one NGO's report, some applications for witness 
protection were still pending with a regional DOJ office more than a 
year after being filed.  Many other potential witnesses may not have 
been aware of the existence of this program.  In addition to the 
halfway houses, VFF also ran two safehouses in Manila and Legazpi 
for longer protective custody of victims, especially for those who 
decided to take legal action against traffickers. 
 
¶B. ACCESS TO FACILITIES: The Philippines has shelters that are 
accessible to trafficking victims, including some shelters that over 
time have become exclusively dedicated to the needs of TIP victims, 
even though the shelters are not officially designated as such. 
DSWD maintained 42 residential care units; of these, 13 centers were 
for girls, 13 centers were for women, and the remaining for men, 
boys, and the elderly.  Substitute homes, or havens, served the 
needs of female victims of trafficking and other forms of abuse. 
Twelve substitute homes provided shelter for over 1,400 women and 
their children.  The DSWD's Residential Care unit provided 24-hour 
residential group care to children on a temporary basis to 
facilitate healing, recovery, and reintegration with their families 
and communities.  The DSWD also referred cases of abuse to 
accredited NGOs for women and children, which provided temporary 
shelter and community services to women and children in crisis, 
 
MANILA 00000444  012 OF 018 
 
 
including victims of trafficking.  While DSWD's efforts to protect 
victims were impressive, government funding for DSWD's programs 
remained inadequate, and some NGOs sought to augment the TIP 
services and capabilities of the DSWD-operated shelters through 
training. 
 
Crisis intervention and child protection units operated in many 
public hospitals throughout the country.  The crisis units also 
provided telephone counseling, conducted rescue operations, and 
provided overnight facilities and referral services for longer-term 
shelters.  Women and Children Protection Units in Department of 
Health (DOH) hospitals offered medical services and psychological 
counseling to victims of violence.  The Philippine General Hospital 
in Manila evaluated and treated TIP victims on behalf of the 
government. 
 
The government cooperated well with NGOs to support and provide 
services to trafficking victims.  Philippine Ports Authority works 
closely with the Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF) and enables it to 
operate halfway houses for victims and potential victims of TIP. 
The Philippine Ports Authority's Gender and Development Focal Point 
Program, an agency under the Department of Transportation and 
Communication (DOTC), provided the building and amenities for a 
halfway house for dedicated use by trafficking victims.  Activities 
of the halfway house staff included regular inspection of the 
different port areas, assistance to possible victims of traffickers 
and victims of illegal recruitment, information dissemination, and 
basic orientation seminars. 
 
VFF currently operates shelters in Manila, Batangas, Davao, 
Sorsogon, and Zamboanga.  During the reporting period, VFF opened 
additional halfway houses in Iloilo and Surigao. 
 
In July 2006, VFF signed a 10-year agreement with the Manila 
International Airport Authority to establish an airport halfway 
house for TIP victims.  In October 2008, the halfway house on 
airport property opened to serve victims and potential victims of 
human trafficking.  Under this partnership, VFF also trains airport 
immigration and customs officials on how to identify potential 
victims of human trafficking. 
 
VFF ran the Multi-Sectoral Network Against Trafficking in Persons 
(MSNAT) to promote cooperation and sustain partnership among 
government, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society.  Government 
partners included the DOJ, DOLE, DFA, DILG, DSWD, National Police 
Commission, Philippine Ports Authority, and the Commission on Human 
Rights. 
 
DSWD provided limited funding to accredited NGOs to help meet the 
basic needs of victims, such as food, clothing, medicine, and legal 
services.  With assistance from DFA, DSWD established arrangements 
with NGOs in other countries to provide distressed OFWs with 
temporary shelter, counseling, and medical assistance. 
 
¶C. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE TO TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: The government 
assisted victims by providing shelter, and access to legal, medical, 
and psychological services.  Medical and psychological services 
include physical examination, dental check-ups, and psychiatric 
evaluation.  In general, NGOs cannot rely on government funding. 
They typically turn to foreign governments, foreign and domestic 
religious groups, third-country and multinational donor agencies, 
and private foundations for resources.  However, the government 
remained highly aware of the value of NGOs in combating trafficking 
and routinely sought cooperation and input from them. 
 
¶D. ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN TRAFFICKED VICTIMS: The Anti-Trafficking 
Law provides that foreign trafficked victims or trafficking victims 
who transit the Philippines are entitled to the same assistance and 
protections as Philippine citizens.  The government provides 
temporary residency status, relief from deportation, shelter, and 
access to legal, medical, and psychological services to foreign 
victims of trafficking.  Additional protective services included 
telephone hotlines for reporting abused/exploited cases of women and 
children. There were no reported foreign national victims of 
trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
MANILA 00000444  013 OF 018 
 
 
 
¶E. LONG-TERM BENEFITS: Although long-term housing is not provided to 
trafficking victims, DSWD does provide victims with livelihood 
skills development and self-employment assistance, including 
training in entrepreneurial skills and the provision of capital. 
DSWD also offers after-care services to reintegrate trafficking 
victims into their homes and communities. 
 
F.REFERRAL PROCESS: The government referred trafficking victims to 
short-term and long-term care institutions, including both 
government and private institutions.  The referral process varied 
depending on the location of the trafficking victim and the nature 
of the relationship between the government agencies and NGOs on 
anti-trafficking issues. 
 
¶G. TOTAL NUMBER OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS:  There are no reliable 
government statistics on the total number of trafficking victims and 
the total number assisted with government services.  DSWD data for 
2008 show that the government served 366 trafficking victims, 136 
victims of child labor, 287 victims of sexual exploitation including 
prostitution, pedophilia and pornography, and 85 victims of illegal 
recruitment.  Due to inconsistent reporting mechanisms at DSWD field 
offices, the data may understate the number of victims serviced. 
During the reporting period, Philippine Foreign Service Posts 
reported a total of 74 cases of trafficking involving 217 victims. 
These cases were referred to the NBI and to the IACAT for 
investigation and, where warranted, the filing of complaints of 
human trafficking.  Other government programs, some in cooperation 
with NGOs, referred victims to government or private services. 
 
¶H. LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFICATION OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: The 
implementing rules of the 2003 anti-trafficking law outlined 
procedures to identify and refer victims of trafficking, whether the 
incident occurred inside or outside of the country.  NGOs noted that 
training conducted by government agencies and NGOs during the year 
improved the government's overall awareness of the trafficking 
problem in the country and led to an improved ability on the part of 
the government to proactively identify traffickers, rescue their 
victims, and investigate cases.  In a 2005 trafficking case, the 
testimony of a Batangas port official trained by an NGO to identify 
trafficking victims led to the first trafficking conviction in 2008. 
 A 2005 case in Zamboanga that led to the nation's first trafficking 
conviction also featured prosecutors trained in anti-trafficking 
strategies. 
 
Victims of trafficking rescued within the country went under the 
custody of the DSWD for proper treatment.  For cases overseas, 
consular officers and personnel from the POLO conducted visits to 
the jail, work site, or residence of the victim, and then provided 
temporary shelter as well as legal, financial, and repatriation 
assistance to the victims.  Upon arrival in the Philippines, the 
DSWD, the NBI, or PNP provided psycho-social interventions, 
psychological and medical examinations, and therapy sessions, if 
necessary. 
 
Port personnel referred victims, as well as domestic workers 
detained at port police stations, to the halfway houses run by the 
Visayan Forum Foundation (VFF).  The DSWD also referred cases of 
physical and verbal abuse against domestic workers to VFF for 
psycho-social intervention and short-term care until repatriation of 
the victims.  The VFF maintained five halfway houses in strategic 
port areas in Batangas, Manila, Davao, Sorsogon, and Zamboanga City. 
 VFF similarly coordinated with the PPA, DOLE, DSWD, shipping 
companies, and workers' groups.  Halfway house staff provided direct 
services to trafficked victims in ports, including temporary 
shelter, referral, repatriation, and counseling. 
 
¶I. THE RIGHTS OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: The 2003 anti-trafficking law 
recognized trafficked persons as victims and did not penalize them 
for crimes related to the acts of trafficking or for obeying 
traffickers, regardless of their consent to exploitation.  Police 
sometimes brought charges of vagrancy against prostitutes and 
trafficked victims. 
 
¶J. VICTIM COOPERATION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT: The government actively 
 
MANILA 00000444  014 OF 018 
 
 
encouraged victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking and related crimes and to file criminal cases against 
traffickers and unscrupulous recruiters.  Victims can file civil 
suits or seek legal action against traffickers.  During the 
reporting period, thirteen trafficking victims cooperated in the 
filing of three anti-trafficking cases.  Some victims declined the 
opportunity to participate in legal proceedings because of the 
financial or emotional cost of going to trial or because they 
settled out of court.  Victims who agree to testify as witnesses are 
allowed to obtain other employment and are allowed to leave the 
country pending trial proceedings.  The Secretary of Justice issued 
a DOJ Circular in 2005 instructing that all cases involving 
violations of the anti-trafficking law should receive preferential 
attention.  The circular also ordered all prosecutors to reject 
calls by defense attorneys for dismissal of cases in which the 
victims recant their testimony. 
 
Pursuant to the Rape Victim Assistance and Protection Act, an 
all-female team of police officers, examining physicians, and 
prosecutors must handle investigations of offenses committed against 
women.  In the case of trafficked children, the Special Protection 
of Children Act and the Rule on Examination of a Child Witness 
mandate that a single panel conduct victim interviews to avoid the 
potentially damaging effects of feeling re-victimized through 
repeated questioning.  All fines paid by trafficking offenders 
accrue to a trust fund that IACAT administers, which it uses to 
prevent acts of trafficking, protect and rehabilitate victims, and 
reintegrate trafficked persons into the community. 
 
¶K. TRAINING FOR OFFICIALS TO IDENTIFY AND PROTECT VICTIMS: The 
government, through IACAT and with funding from USAID and other 
donors, conducted regular training seminars for government 
officials, including those from DSWD, PNP, DOJ, DFA, DOLE, 
Commission on Human Rights, and various NGOs, on gender- sensitive 
and child-friendly handling of trafficking cases. 
 
The BI also conducted periodic training on basic immigration laws 
and procedures for immigration officers and agents in the field and 
other personnel involved in operations.  Consular staff, Foreign 
Service officers, and attaches en route to foreign missions also 
received TIP training.  ILO and the Department of Foreign Affairs 
Foreign Service Institute have developed an anti-trafficking in 
persons training module.  This training module (in CD format) has 
benefitted 350 DFA Foreign Service officers and staff officers who 
were unable to undergo anti-trafficking training through PDOS in 
¶2008. 
 
¶L. ASSISTANCE FOR REPATRIATED TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: DFA, OWWA, and 
DSWD assisted repatriated Filipino workers who were victims of 
trafficking.  The OWWA's Halfway Home program provided temporary 
shelter, transport services, financial assistance, and counseling 
services through a network of NGOs.  The DSWD, working with DOLE and 
DOH, provided protective custody, recovery, and healing services for 
victims.  Services included organization of support groups, 
psychological and psychiatric interventions, medical, legal and 
livelihood services, provision of limited financial assistance, and 
educational assistance. 
 
¶M. GOVERNMENT COOPERATION WITH NGOS: The vibrant local and 
international NGO community in the Philippines included many 
organizations that work directly with trafficking victims.  The most 
active contributors included: 
 
-- Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia Pacific 
(CATW-AP) is an international network of feminist groups, 
organizations, and individuals fighting the sexual exploitation of 
women.  The coalition brings attention to trafficking in women and 
girls, prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and bride selling 
through media campaigns and policy advocacy.  It provides preventive 
education program on migration and trafficking at the community and 
grassroots level and conducts dialogues with government agencies 
such as the POEA, DOLE, and DSWD on preventive and curative 
measures.  Its services include referring trafficking cases to 
member and partner organizations for legal, counseling and support 
services.  It also documents trafficking cases based on the Human 
 
MANILA 00000444  015 OF 018 
 
 
Rights Information and Documentation System used by a global network 
of organizations concerned with human rights issues. 
 
-- Visayan Forum Foundation focuses on the promotion of child 
welfare, especially migrant working children, and is active on the 
issue of domestic trafficking of women and children.  It provides 
24-hour services for victims, including the operation of several 
temporary shelters, counseling, employment referrals, training, and 
advocacy.  Staff positioned at port arrival areas identify and 
intercept probable victims of trafficking as they disembark ships. 
Through funding assistance from The Asia Foundation and the USG, VFF 
spearheaded the creation of the Multi-Sectoral Network Against 
Trafficking in Persons (MSNAT), a national network committed to 
provide immediate and appropriate response mechanisms to prevent 
trafficking, investigate and prosecute offenders, and protect, 
rescue, recover, and reintegrate victims, especially women and 
children. 
 
-- The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is the largest 
trade union network in the Philippines.  The TUCP forges coalitions 
with various labor groups in its efforts to promote and protect the 
rights and welfare of workers and other disadvantaged groups, 
including women, youth, children, and migrant workers.  TUCP's 
Women's Bureau is particularly active in anti-trafficking 
initiatives, such as public information and media campaigns, 
database collection and documentation, provision of legal assistance 
to victims through public attorneys' offices, and networking.  With 
funding support from the American Center for International Labor 
Solidarity and the USG, TUCP completed a government database housed 
with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) to provide a uniform 
reporting mechanism that conforms to National Police Commission 
(NAPOLCOM) standards.  TUCP worked with transportation unions and 
companies in 2008 to disseminate information on anti-trafficking 
initiatives and interdiction, signing MOAs with bus companies and 
two inter-island passenger lines, Sulpicio Lines and Trans-Asia. 
TUCP also implemented anti-trafficking orientation programs for 
seafarers and ticketing agents and other personnel for trafficking 
interventions. In February 2009, TUCP, in cooperation with the 
Bataan provincial government, launched the Bataan Task Force against 
Trafficking, that province's interagency body on anti-trafficking 
issues. 
 
-- Development Action for Women Network (DAWN) addresses the 
concerns of Filipino women migrants in Japan as well as the growing 
number of Japanese-Filipino children (JFCs).  Almost 90 percent of 
Filipino OFWs in Japan are female entertainers, making them 
vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation.  In coordination 
with its DAWN-Japan volunteers, DAWN-Philippines assists JFCs 
abandoned by their Japanese fathers. 
 
-- Women's Legal Bureau (WLB) is a feminist legal NGO composed of 
lawyers, academics, and members of other professions.  It provides 
legal services to victims and survivors of violence against women 
and conducts education and information campaigns to raise public 
awareness on women's issues.  Other programs include representation 
of women in judicial proceedings, training of law enforcers and 
members of the legal profession on gender sensitivity, empowering 
communities to respond to feminist issues, especially those 
involving violence against women, and working with women's groups 
toward promoting human rights. 
 
-- Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women (TWMAEW) 
addresses the needs of children and women in prostitution and other 
victims of sexual exploitation through shelters and support centers. 
 It offers skills training, livelihood assistance, and 
psycho-social intervention.  In collaboration with UNICEF and DepEd, 
it conducted awareness-raising campaigns on sexual abuse for 13,291 
elementary school pupils.  Social workers, educators, and survivors 
of sexual abuse facilitated the workshops. 
 
-- Kanlungan Center Foundation (KCF) works with OFWs and their 
families in addressing the problems of migrant workers.  It provides 
legal and welfare assistance, psycho-social counseling, temporary 
shelter, education, and training.  Its educational lineup includes 
courses on basic migrants' orientation, migrant rights, legal 
 
MANILA 00000444  016 OF 018 
 
 
remedies, and gender awareness and sensitivity. KCF also creates 
partnerships at the grassroots level to address the psycho-social 
and economic sides of migration that can impact communities. 
 
-- End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of 
Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) campaigns to raise general 
public awareness in tourism, the travel industry, and high-risk 
communities on the issue of children victims of sexual abuse and 
commercial sexual exploitation.  ECPAT is a member of the Special 
Committee for the Protection of Children under the DOJ and works 
with local government units in major provinces and cities, other 
NGOs, and church-based organizations. 
 
---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The answers below are keyed to the format contained in ref 
A, para 27: 
 
¶A. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS: Government agencies increased the 
frequency of their TIP information and education campaigns, mostly 
thanks to funding by bilateral international donor agencies. 
 
-- In March 2008, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in 
Persons (IACAT), with support from USAID, conducted a "road show" 
campaign against human trafficking in the Caraga region of 
northeastern Mindanao.  Aimed at raising awareness in communities, 
over 1,500 government and non-government organizations, church and 
women's groups, students and the media from Butuan City and five 
provinces of the Caraga region participated in the road show, which 
educated thousands of Filipinos on the dangers of human trafficking 
and on how to avoid becoming victims. 
 
-- In September and October 2008, the IACAT, with the Blas F. Ople 
Policy Research Center and the Visayan Forum Foundation, held 
campaigns entitled "We Are Not for Sale" at Manila International 
Airport and Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, 
Pampanga.  The campaign sought to educate immigration officers on 
the harm caused by their potential complicity in human trafficking 
and thereby prevent their collusion with traffickers.  The campaign 
included sessions with immigration officers and trafficking victims. 
 During one of these sessions, some of the victim-speakers 
identified two immigration officers in the audience whom the victims 
claim had worked with their recruiters.  The two immigration 
officers are now facing criminal and administrative charges. 
 
-- In April 2008, The Asia Foundation and the Association of 
Broadcasters, through the support of USAID, aired anti-trafficking 
infomercials for 45 days on 34 radio stations in Metro Manila, Cebu, 
Samar, and Leyte. 
 
-- During the reporting period, IACAT distributed hundreds of 
standard orientation modules on trafficking in persons to city and 
municipal mayors at an annual conference in Manila. 
 
-- POEA conducted 1,235 pre-employment orientation seminars for 
61,582 departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in 2008.  These 
seminars sought t educate the OFWs on the risks and rewards of 
ovrseas employment.  The seminar module included a vieo 
presentation on trafficking in persons. 
 
--The National Commission on the Role of Filipino Woen (NCRFW), in 
partnership with the IACAT, the Iter-Agency Council on Violence 
Against Women andTheir Children (IACVAWC), and the Violence Against 
Women Coordinating Committee (VAWCC), spearheadedan 18-day campaign 
from November 25 to Decembe 2 to promote an end to violence 
against women.  The campaign highlighted the roles of governments 
and citizens in curbing and responding sensitively to violence 
against women, including human trafficking. 
 
¶B. IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION PATTERNS: Approximately one million 
passengers transited Manila's North Harbor in 2008, the country's 
largest port; as many as half were in search of employment 
opportunities.  Despite efforts to guard major port areas, the 
 
MANILA 00000444  017 OF 018 
 
 
government did not have sufficient resources to adequately monitor 
its borders.  With more than 7,000 islands, fully monitoring 
maritime borders was virtually impossible given the limited 
resources of the maritime services. 
 
The Philippine Coast Guard, under the Department of Transportation 
and Communication, intercepted some ferries in order to identify 
trafficked victims and illegal recruiters in coordination with 
private shipping companies.  The Maritime Police conducted 
investigations upon the disembarkation of passengers.  It referred 
victims of trafficking to government agencies or local NGOs for 
further assistance. 
 
Owners, managers, and key personnel of shipping companies conducted 
regular orientation and awareness seminars with their crews to 
educate them on ways to identify and report suspected trafficking 
victims onboard.  Often, shipping companies assisted in facilitating 
the repatriation of minors by offering discounted fares. 
 
In February 2007, IACAT established its first anti-trafficking task 
force at Manila's international airport.  The Ninoy Aquino 
International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons 
included representatives from the Manila International Airport 
Authority, the Airport Police Department, BI, NBI, PNP, Pasay City 
Prosecutor's Office, POEA, Bureau of Customs, DFA, CFO, DSWD, and 
the Airline Operators Council.  The Task Force, through USG 
assistance, helped improve information-sharing across agencies in 
order to improve the interception, investigation, and prosecution of 
traffickers, as well as to coordinate immediate assistance to 
trafficking victims. 
 
¶C. COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: The 
Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT), through 
its regular monthly meetings, coordinated, monitored, and oversaw 
the implementation of the Anti-TIP Law, and served as an umbrella 
organization to coordinate anti-TIP efforts in the Philippines.  The 
DOJ and DSWD Secretaries co-chaired the IACAT, which also included 
representatives from DFA, DOLE, POEA, NCRFW, NBI, BI, and the PNP, 
as well as three NGOs representing women, children, and overseas 
Filipino workers.  The DOJ allocated two million pesos (41,554 USD) 
for IACAT's 2009 activities, the first time IACAT has ever received 
a budget. 
 
In addition to the national-level IACAT, the government continued to 
create local and regional inter-agency councils against TIP.  The 
local IACATs similarly included various government agencies, local 
government units, and NGOs.  As of 2008, there were 15 regional 
IACATs, 15 provincial IACATs, 17 city IACATS, and 34 municipal 
IACATs, in addition to other bodies that were not part of the formal 
IACAT structure.  Alongside the local IACATs, local task forces in 
some hot spot areas coordinated law enforcement and prosecution 
efforts. 
 
In 2008, IACAT expanded its efforts to standardize the government's 
approach to the problem of trafficking and the treatment of its 
victims.  During the reporting period, IACAT drafted and approved 
guidelines for the protection of the rights of trafficked children 
and, in cooperation with NCRFW, drafted and approved similar 
guidelines for the protection and rights of women.  IACAT also 
released a manual on the recovery and reintegration of trafficking 
victims and, with NCRFW, developed government performance standards 
for handling cases of violence against women, including trafficking. 
 IACAT compiled local ordinances on trafficking and refined them 
into model ordinances for local government use in implementing 
anti-trafficking regulations at the local level. 
 
The DFA's Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) chairs the 
interagency Presidential Task Force on Human Trafficking which 
conducts surveillance and entrapment operations in coordination with 
law enforcement and immigration agencies, conducts community 
education, and provides legal and psycho-social services to 
trafficking victims. 
 
President Arroyo appointed Vice President Noli De Castro in October 
to lead a new interagency anti-illegal recruitment task force 
 
MANILA 00000444  018 OF 018 
 
 
composed of the DFA, POEA, BI, and the CIDG.  The task force 
intercepts overseas-bound Filipinos at risk for trafficking and 
arrests recruiters who victimize overseas-bound Filipinos.  In the 
first five weeks of 2009, the task force intercepted approximately 
50 Filipinos with fraudulent travel documents or suspicious 
itineraries who were at risk for trafficking.  At the local level, 
Anti-Illegal Recruitment Coordinating Councils assisted government 
agencies to develop strategies to improve anti-illegal recruitment 
programs. 
 
The DOJ led a National Task Force on the Protection of Women Against 
Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination, as well as a Task Force on 
Child Protection, to address cases of violence against women and 
children. 
 
Local Councils for the Protection of Children existed at the 
provincial, city, municipality, and village levels to assist in 
identifying conditions related to child abuse, neglect, and 
exploitation, and to facilitate immediate responses to reported 
cases of child abuse and exploitation. 
 
Both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Presidential Anti-Graft 
Commission pursued official corruption cases and coordinated the 
government's anti-corruption efforts. 
 
¶D. NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION TO ADDRESS TRAFFICKING: The government 
maintained its national action plan to address TIP, originally 
developed with NGO input.  IACAT lead the implementation of the plan 
involving DOJ, DSWD, DOLE, and other government agencies.  All 
agencies involved in IACAT shared responsibilities for developing 
and implementing anti-trafficking programs.  As co-chair of IACAT, 
DOJ ensured the protection of persons accused of trafficking, 
provided access to free government or NGO legal assistance, and 
trained prosecutors in handling trafficking-related cases.  DSWD 
took the lead in implementing rehabilitative and protective programs 
for trafficked persons and providing victims with counseling and 
temporary shelter.  DSWD also developed a system for accreditation 
among NGOs in order to establish centers and programs for 
intervention at the community level. 
 
¶E. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO REDUCE DEMAND FOR COMMERCIAL SEX ACTS:  The 
government, given its limited resources, did not have specific 
programs aimed at reducing the demand for commercial sex acts. 
However, several NGOs, including the Coalition Against Trafficking 
in Women, sponsored demand reduction programs targeting teenage 
males in some communities. 
 
¶F. GOVERNMENT EFFORTS TO REDUCE PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CHILD 
SEX TOURISM BY NATIONALS: As a destination country for child sex 
tourists, the Philippine government focused its limited resources on 
fighting child sex tourism inside the country. 
 
¶G. INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING TROOPS: The Philippines deployed a 
total of 626 military and police personnel in United Nations 
peacekeeping missions.  Before deploying troops to peacekeeping 
operations, the Department of National Defense and the PNP conducted 
seminars and training for peacekeepers, including a training module 
on trafficking in persons.  The DFA also provided pre-departure 
orientation seminars to Foreign Service officers and other 
government personnel, including military and police, before being 
assigned abroad. 
 
KENNEY