Senator Leila de Lima on Wednesday urged the government to strictly implement laws against human trafficking after data showed a significant increase of cases in the country.
“Although the Philippines has retained its Tier 1 status in complying with the United States’ minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, records show that there are still tens of thousands of Filipino men, women and children who easily fall victim to human trafficking and slavery,” De Lima said in a statement.
The Philippines has been under the Tier 1 for the third consecutive year this year for “fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”
“The government must show that it is exerting all efforts to reduce the cases of, if not eradicate, human trafficking by enhancing cooperative efforts with other countries to combat human trafficking while raising awareness about the issue,” she added.
According to the Global Slavery Index, about 784,000 Filipinos lived in modern slavery in the Philippines, a 500,000 increase from 2014 which had 260,000 recorded incidents of human trafficking.
The report added that at least seven persons out of every 1,000 Filipinos have experienced modern slavery.
De Lima said offenders of the law should be held accountable from the crime that they have committed regardless of their position in the society.
“The so-called ‘sellers’ and ‘buyers’ of trafficked individuals must face prison terms and fines for their crime. The government should not be complacent in their fight against human trafficking to maintain its Tier 1 status,” De Lima said. /vvp