The National Prosecution Service, through its Special Projects Division (SPD), and in partnership with the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) and the Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking-in-Persons (IACAT), joined in the celebration of the 2021 World Day Against Trafficking (WDAT) by conducting a five-day seminar entitled 1st Basic E-learning Access to Trainings on Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking-in-Persons Cases (1st BEAT-TIP) last July 26 to July 30, 2021.
Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, undersecretary-in-charge of IACAT, formally opened the five-day event while National Prosecution Service Prosecutor General Benedicto A. Malcontento, concurrent Chairperson of the SPD, formally welcomed all the guests, trainers and participants. Messages were likewise given by IACAT Executive Director, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Jinky P. Dedumo, and ASEAN-ACT Team Leader, Dr. Lucia Pietropaoli.
The 1st Basic E-learning Access To Trainings on Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking-in-Persons Cases (1st BEAT-TIP) is a blended program designed to provide prosecutors with the fundamental and innovative strategies in the successful investigation and prosecution of Trafficking-in-Persons cases. It consists of a thorough series of learning activities on Republic Act No. 9208 or the “Anti Trafficking-in-Persons Act”, as amended by Republic Act 10364, as well as workshops and hands-on demonstration that aim to strengthen prosecutors’ skills in investigating and prosecuting Trafficking-in-Persons cases. This training course is designed to equip prosecutors to effectively apply proactive strategies, investigative and prosecutorial techniques in handling all forms of trafficking cases.
For this run, the participants were twenty-four (24) prosecutors from the different prosecution offices in the National Capital Region (NCR). The training team, on the other hand, is composed of prosecutors from all over the country, who are members of the SPD Pool of Trainers and their respective anti-TIP task forces.
On the last day of the seminar, no less than Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra formally closed the event where he acknowledged that despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines has retained its Tier 1 ranking in the fight against TIP from the US Department of State, indicating our Government’s ferocious efforts of addressing the problem of human trafficking. He assured that the Department of Justice and National Prosecution Service will be relentless in their efforts to develop and increase the skills and competencies of Specialist Prosecutors in handling Trafficking-In-Persons cases to ensure that victims are protected, and offenders prosecuted and penalized.