De Lima seeks to amend definition of illegal recruitment syndicate

Senator Leila de Lima
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

A bill that seeks to lower the number of perpetrators from three to two to qualify a scheme as large-scale illegal recruitment has been filed at the Senate.

Senate Bill 961, redefining the crime of illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate as a group of three or more persons formed to carry out illegal deployment of Filipino workers abroad, was filed by Senator Leila de Lima, chairperson of the Senate justice committee.

De Lima said the bill, if enacted into law, will amend the definition of syndicate by lowering the number of perpetrators from three to two to qualify as illegal recruitment by a syndicate.

“Sa panukalang batas na ito, tatapusin natin ang maliligayang sandali ng mga umaabuso sa mga butas ng batas. Wawakasan natin ang modus ng mga sindikatong ito, at sisiguruhing marangal na makakapagtrabaho ang ating mga OFW (overseas Filipino worker),” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

(Through this bill, we will end the glory days of those who abuse the loopholes of the law. We will end the modus [operandi] of these syndicates and ensure that our OFWs can work decently.)

The senator pointed out that under the Labor Code of the Philippines and Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995, illegal recruitment is generally committed by a syndicate or a group of three or more persons who intend to carry out illegal transactions or scheme.

“Unfortunately, persons accused of illegal recruitment by a syndicate often evade by simply alleging that the victim failed to establish that the crime was carried out by a group of three or more persons conspiring with one another,” she said.

“Despite government campaigns and stiffer penalties imposed, illegal recruitment continues to proliferate. Every year, hundreds of victims still fall prey to illegal recruiters,” De Lima added.

Under the present law, she said, illegal recruitment by a syndicate is meted with life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million but not more than P5 million.

De Lima said the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report once downgraded the Philippines to Tier 2 watch list, which includes countries whose government do not comply with the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of the US.

It was through the efforts, she said, of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) that the country has been upgraded to Tier 1 status. IACAT was then headed by de Lima as Justice Secretary during the past administration

“The challenge ahead is how to maintain such Tier 1 ranking as to decisively and palpably defeat the scourge which is human trafficking. Illegal recruitment continues to proliferate despite government campaigns and stiffer penalties,” said the senator. CDG

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