PHILIPPINES RETAIN HIGHEST RATING FOR ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS IN 2024 US TRAFFICKING REPORT
Tier 1 ranking is the highest rating given to countries that satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. | July 01, 2024
Photo Courtesy: U.S. State Department
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Philippines retained its Tier 1 status in the 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report recently released by the US State Department. Tier 1 ranking is the highest rating given to countries that satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons under the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The Philippines has been on Tier 1 status since 2016.
The 2024 TIP Report cites the Philippine government’s continued demonstration of serious and sustained efforts in combatting trafficking in persons. “These efforts included investigating and prosecuting more alleged traffickers, finalizing and adopting Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) SOPs on the identification and monitoring of trafficking-related corruption cases, promulgating implementing rules and regulations for its amended anti-trafficking law, and sentencing nearly all traffickers to significant prison terms,” the report said.
Ambassador Jose Manuel G. Romualdez thanked the US State Department for acknowledging the efforts of the Philippine government under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to fight human trafficking. “It has always been the priority of the Marcos administration to protect Filipino workers and other vulnerable members of the society from human traffickers, illegal recruiters, and crime syndicates. With the whole-of-government approach, we will further intensify our campaign to stop trafficking in persons by bringing the perpetrators to justice and identifying and assisting victims as recommended in the Report,” said Romualdez.
The US State Department also recognized ten individuals from across the globe as TIP Heroes for 2024. One such hero is Filipino lawyer Samson Inocencio, Jr., of the International Justice Mission Philippines Program against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children. He was recognized for his “courageous leadership and distinguished career in partnering with the Philippine Government to enhance the public justice system and civil society’s response to human trafficking, leading to the identification of and assistance to over a thousand survivors, the convictions of hundreds of traffickers, and the protection of many children from exploitation.”