Beware human traffickers! Justice Secretary Agnes VST Devanadera has ordered prosecutors today to exert all efforts that will address issues concerning delay in the prosecution of human trafficking cases, at the same breath, urging judges for speedy decision of said cases.

The move is in response to the 2009 Global Trafficking in Persons (GTIP) report of the US State Department that placed the Philippines on Tier 2 Watch List, noting that “despite overall, the government did not show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking “.

Devanadera has asked DOJ prosecutors to request judges, without antagonizing them, to fast-track decisions of human trafficking cases pending in their courts. The newly installed acting justice secretary opened the move as the Department does not exercise supervision and control of courts where some of the said cases remain undecided.

Stressing lack of conviction, the Report indicated that in 2008 law enforcement agencies reported 168 trafficking cases to the DOJ of which prosecutors initiated hauling 97 cases to courts. Only four (4) trafficking convictions were obtained under the 2003 anti-trafficking law during the reporting period. From 2003-2008, the DOJ received a total of 679 TIP cases, 253 of which are pending resolution, 229 were filed in court, the rest were either filed in violation for other related laws, dismissed or withdrawn.

Meanwhile, ACSP Severino Gana Jr., chairman of Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, partly took exception to the report, as it did not include the recent convictions by the Cebu City RTC court. The case involved a female accused who was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Php 3million, for harboring a person for the purpose of pornography and/or sexual exploitation. The accused was found to have brought five (5) minors with ages from 8-14 years old who were brought to her house and were asked to pose naked in front of a web camera.

He said in the 2008 GTIP Report the Philippines was in Tier 2. While Tier 2 and Tier 2 Watch List category do not vary, however, the recent amendment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2008 contains a provision requiring that a country that has been included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after the date of the enactment of TVPA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 3. Countries classified as Tier 3 maybe subjected to statutory restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on non-humanitarian and non-trade related foreign assistance.

In April 2005, former Justice Secretary Gonzalez issued a circular enjoining prosecutors to give preferential attention to trafficking in persons cases. The circular issued applies only to prosecutors directly under the supervision of the DOJ. The circular no longer applies as soon as the case is filed in court in view of the present setup that the executive branch cannot infringe on the judiciary.

The Report cited the following bases for lack of conviction:

1. the prosecutors handle TIP cases along with many other type of criminal cases;

2. the shortage of judges and courtrooms, non-continuous trials, and high turn-over of judges, prosecutors and law enforcers result to lack or limited knowledge of law in using evidence for trafficking case build-up, prosecution and trial;

3. Corruption among law enforcement operatives and immigration agents remained pervasive and some of them were complicit in trafficking and permitted organized crime groups involved in trafficking to conduct illegal activities.

The Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the body created under RA 9208(an Act Against Anti-Trafficking of Persons) to oversee the implementation of the law and monitor all anti-trafficking activities, has not received funding since its establishment in 2004. The IACAT in partnership with NGO and international partners has launched anti-trafficking initiatives. Though lacking substantial budget, it continued to support the creation of local IACAT councils and created model anti-trafficking local ordinances.