Philippine efforts against human trafficking were praised in a recent US report, which also flagged the country’s failure to convict trafficking criminals.
The country kept its Tier 1 ranking after meeting minimum standards against human trafficking even during a coronavirus pandemic.
The US State Department report commended the Philippines for having prosecuted more traffickers.
But the agency said the government “did not convict any officials for complicity in trafficking crimes and did not vigorously investigate labor trafficking crimes that occurred within the Philippines or provide training to labor inspectors on the indicators of trafficking.”
“We continue to aspire to improve our responses and to recalibrate our efforts to address the recommendations proposed in the (report), starting with the promising amendments to legislation in order to address the current gaps,” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said in a statement. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago