Secretary De Lima airs warning anew versus human trafficking

syndicates
Posted: 03 June 2015

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima today renewed warnings to human trafficking syndicates that the
government "is determined more than ever to eliminate these elements who are preying on our
children, women and overseas bound workers".
Secretary De Lima aired the renewed warning at the First International Dialogue on Human Trafficking
attended by more than a hundred delegates from the diplomatic community and national prosecution
and law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations and private sector partners.
The event was organized by the Philippine Interagency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) in
partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
According to Secretary De Lima, "the government has doubled both its resources and manpower" as
she vowed that the Philippines "is set to surpass its achievements in the war against human
trafficking".
Secretary De Lima lauded the conference delegates "for refusing to look away and instead identifying
more decisive steps to combat this global menace".
She warned that "when those who can do something to stop human trafficking look away, the dreams
of the victims of this crime die". She noted that Filipinos who fall prey to human trafficking syndicates
are vulnerable because they are willing to pursue their dreams at whatever cost.
She also thanked the conference delegates for adopting the Manila Declaration which recognized "the
urgent need for a comprehensive international approach to prevent and combat human trafficking".
Secretary De Lima also lauded the IACAT for "sustaining the gains which the Philippines has already
won in the war against human trafficking".
She recalled that the Philippines has been rated as Number One in Asia in the Global Slavery Index
among countries "making comparatively strong efforts with limited resources" based on their national
economic capacity.
The same index ranked the Philippine government's efforts at Number 3 among Asia-Pacific countries
and Number 29 globally out of 167 countries rated.
The Index specifically cited the response of the Philippines' criminal justice system among the
programs it has launched to combat the menace.
The Global Slavery Index was released by Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based human rights
organization.

Measuring Vulnerability
In 2014, the Global Slavery Index examines the relative vulnerability of the population in
individual countries to modern slavery, based on an analysis of data across five
dimensions:
1. National policies to combat modern slavery.
2. The availability of human rights protections in a country.

3. The level of economic and social development in a country.

4. The level of state stability in a country.
5. The extent of womens rights and levels of discrimination in a country.
In 2014, the ten countries where vulnerability is highest were: Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan,
Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Syria,
Libya, North Korea, and Afghanistan. In an effort to better understand the relative
significance of each of the dimensions noted above, we undertook statistical testing
(bivariate analysis) to examine the correlations between these dimensions, and
prevalence of modern slavery. Correlation results confirm that the relationship between
each of these dimensions and prevalence is statistically significant.
The strongest relationships (in order of strongest to weakest) are seen between:

State Stability and Prevalence (r = 0.55, p<.01)

Human Rights and Prevalence (r = 0.53, p<.01)

Development and Prevalence (r = 0.41, p<.01)

Discrimination and Prevalence (r =0.40, p<.01)

State Policy on Modern Slavery and Prevalence (r = 0.38, p<.01)

Each of these results is statistically significant indicating the relationship is not the result
of chance (the closer r is to 1, the stronger the relationship between the two
variables). The stability or instability of a country is a significant factor; protective
policies will have little impact when a countrys rule of law has broken down because of
civil war, or ethnic or religious conflict. In the Global Slavery Index the State
Stability measure is an aggregate of factors that examine a countrys level of corruption,
governance, independence of its judiciary, relative level of peace, political stability, level
of violent crime, and availability of small arms and light weapons. Statistical testing
confirms the relevance of modern slavery to conflict situations as we have seen this year
in Syria and the horrors perpetrated by the terrorist group Islamic State.
High levels of prejudice and discrimination in a society can create a context that marks
some people as less important and less deserving of rights and protection, which in turn
makes the crime of modern slavery easier to commit against them. In the Global Slavery

Index seven variables are used to measure the extent and types of discrimination.
These factors include: discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, disability,
immigration status, ethnicity, womens political and economic rights, and the level of
income inequality (Gini coefficient) in a given country. Statistical testing confirms the
relationship between discrimination and prevalence of modern slavery.
Philippines
POPULATION: 98,393,574 GDP/CAPITA: 6,533
INDEX RANK
103
ESTIMATED ENSLAVED
261,200
0.2655% OF POP. ENSLAVED
GOV'T RESPONSE
BB
VULNERABILITY
47.1

Prevalence
THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 261,200 PEOPLE IN MODERN SLAVERY IN
PHILIPPINES THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO 0.2655% OF THE ENTIRE POPULATION
Modern slavery exists in the Philippines in all its forms, however the issue of forced
labour for Filipinos working abroad is a significant concern. 1 The most recent survey on
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) by the Philippine Statistics Authority suggests that
one in every two Filipino women working abroad are unskilled, and employed as
domestic workers, cleaners, or in the service sector. 2 These sectors represent some of
the highest industry risks for modern slavery. As such, Filipino women are often subject
to forced labour, have no access to their passport, limited if any rights, and
experience sexual and physical abuse by employer.3 Filipino workers are also vulnerable
to forced labour and involuntary servitude in the sex industry throughout Asia and the
Middle East. 4
Products known to be produced using modern slavery

SugarTunaLearn more about the prevalence of slavery in the Philippines

Of particular concern is the trafficking of women under the guise of marriage for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.6 The United Nations estimates that 100,000
children in the Philippines are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation each
year,7 with many cases linked to organised crime groups.8 Filipino men are also subject
to forced labour abroad, with many working in the construction industry, seafaring and
maritime work, agriculture and manufacturing. 9 In 2013, young Filipino boxers were
allegedly trafficked into Australia on sporting visas, where they were held in a debt
bondage situation and forced to work in unpaid domestic labour. 10
Despite tensions easing in the Mindanao region following a peace deal agreement
between the Philippine Government and Muslim separatist group Moro Islamic
Liberation Front in May 2014,11 South Mindanao remains volatile. Emerging factional
conflict among breakaway gangs, Islamic militants and feuding clans threaten the newly
established peace, and present a risk for children being recruited in armed political
groups.12 Children are reportedly used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as
guides and informants, and are engaged in actual armed conflict in groups like the New
Peoples Army, insurgent group Abu Sayyaf, and the and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters.13
Forced and child labour exists in the agricultural sector within the Philippines, including
in tobacco fields,14 banana plantations,15 and sugarcane crops.16 Children living in
tobacco growing regions often work alongside their families to harvest and package
tobacco leaves for export. Children as young as 12 years old were identified in the
sector, with many working more than 43 hours per week, exposing them to dangerous
levels of nicotine, and other hazardous farming chemicals. 17 Pa-Aling Fishermen are
subject to forced labour and exploitation at sea. The Pa-Aling fisherman face similar
conditions to fisherman in Thailand and Malaysia, but these fishermen dive deep into
the ocean with nothing but compressors in order to scare fish out of coral reef. They are
often forced into these situations and lack legal protection. 18
Government response
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE RATING: BB
The general characteristics of a country that has received a rating of BB are as follows:
The government has introduced a response to modern slavery, which includes short
term victim support services, a criminal justice framework that criminalises some forms
of modern slavery, a body to coordinate the response, and protections for those
vulnerable to modern slavery.There may be evidence that some government policies

and practices may criminalise and/or cause victims to be deported, and/or facilitate
slavery.

Score

Survivors are
supported

Criminal
justice

BB

61.1

71.4

Attitudes,
Coordination
social systems Business and
and
and
government
accountability
institutions
58.3

56.3

BB
The Philippine Government addressed some recommendations made in the 2013
Global Slavery Index, and as a result continued to be regional leader in victim support
and protection, particularly for OFWs.
In 2013, the Philippine Government increased protection for nationals working abroad
through the establishment of 15 multi-agency Filipino workers resource centres to assist
workers in 36 countries with populations of 20,000 or more Filipino workers. 19 Filipino
emigrants are required to register with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and part
of that registration includes participation in the Pre-departure Orientation Seminar
(PDOS),20 which is now available online.21 Information collected during the registration
process is then used to inform policy and program development. 22 Despite these efforts,
the Batas Kasambahaya, which is the national legal instrument aligning laws with the
Domestic Workers Convention (ILO 198), the government still faces challenges in
implementing protections.23 Learn more about the government response
Following reports of abuse of Filipino workers in the Gulf States, the Philippine
Government introduced a raft of innovative measures to ensure domestic workers were
protected. This includes standardised employment contracts that require predeployment verification by the Philippine Labour Office and the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA), a minimum monthly wage of $400 and holidays
among other measures.24 Victim support and protection for both Filipinos in the
Philippines and abroad are largely coordinated by the Inter-Agency Council against
Trafficking (IACAT), which primarily focuses on recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration
of victims back into society.25 Government funding for this body and their initiatives was
increased in 2014 to US$2.4 million.26
In addition to victim support and protection, the Government continued its efforts to
implement the 2012-2016 National Strategic Plan on Trafficking in Persons 27 Law
enforcement efforts increased from 2013 to 2014, with the Government securing 31 sex

trafficking convictions, two of which are from Pampanga, a province known to be a

trafficking hot-spot.28 There were no convictions for labour trafficking and reports
suggest the Government efforts to investigate and prosecute claims of sexual abuse and
trafficking against officials in overseas Embassies has been limited. 29 In one case, an
Embassy official in Kuwait allegedly pressured an OFW to provide sex in return for her
flight home, as well as removing another OFW from a shelter and putting her back into
employment where she was sexually abused by her employer. Investigations are
reportedly ongoing.30
The Philippines has made progress addressing issues of children in armed conflict,
including drafting child protection legislation 31 and military guidelines that prevent the
use of schools. 32 Despite these measures, continuing factional violence threatens to
undermine efforts.
Vulnerability

Slavery policy

Human rights

State stability

Discrimination

Development

36.4

41.4

52.5

59.4

45.6

Situated on an active typhoon belt and on the cuff of shifting tectonic plates, the
Philippines is a hotspot for natural disasters.33 In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan
affected 3.2 million people, displaced 348,507 people, and destroyed homes, hospitals
and public infrastructure.34 Reports suggest that the typhoon directly contributed to least
two trafficking investigations.35 Learn more about the vulnerability to slavery
Despite this geographic vulnerability, the Philippines has benefitted from a rapidly
expanding economy, with experts speculating it will emerge as a new Tiger
economy.36 However, even with the implementation of progressive social protection
schemes, steep wealth disparity and limited employment opportunities lead many
Filipino workers to find employment overseas, particularly in the Gulf countries, parts of
Asia and the Middle East.37 This is largely related to private sector improvements, with
many still citing a highly corrupt judicial system. 38
The systemic corruption evident at all levels of the Philippine government also
contributes to the risk of modern slavery.39 However, positive progress in the fight
against corruption is emerging in 2013, Transparency International ranked the

Philippines 94th out of 177 countries for perceptions of corruption levels, 40 which was an
improvement from previous ranking of 105th out of 175 countries. 41
Recommendations
GOVERNMENT

Increase efforts to effectively implement the expanded anti-trafficking law at the

local level, including better cooperation of key Government agencies to provide
education, undertake awareness raising and support prosecutions.

Immediately push the Draft Bill Special Protection of Children in Situation of

Armed Conflict Act 2011 through the senate and take required steps to
implement the legislative protections for children

Continue to monitor and respond to the use of children in armed conflict.

Undertake information campaigns to ensure the public know how to identify and
report cases of modern slavery.

Upscale law enforcement efforts to prosecute all forms of modern slavery,

including those involving Government officials in Embassies.

Upscale efforts to ensure that employment conditions of OFWs is monitored and

streamlined to ensure access to rights and protection, including establishing the
central database to track cases of OFW exploitation.

Continue to take steps towards the elimination of corruption, focusing more on

corruption in the public and judicial systems.

Pass, and implement protections outlined in the recently amended Anti-Mail

Order Bride Law, and Family Code to ensure both foreign nationals and Filipino
citizens who use marriage for the purposes of sex trafficking, forced commercial
sexual exploitation can be prosecuted, and victims have explicit rights to
protection and support to exit the situation

BUSINESS

Businesses with suppliers in high risk industries such as tobacco and sugar
cane, should undertake due diligence measures to identify any forced labour in
their supply chains.

Ensure supply chain traceability through supply chain mapping exercises and
communicating with suppliers beyond the first tier.

Develop a multi-sector initiative that includes key government departments,

international businesses headquartered or with suppliers in the Philippines to
respond to, and eradicate forced and child labour in the agricultural sector,
particularly in tobacco, banana and sugarcane farming.

Pre-empt, and respond to the risk of businesses using forced labour to remain
competitive in the increasingly open market by enforcing labour protections and
applying sanctions on businesses found to be using forced labour.