by Jonnie H. Buenaventura
from PIA Press Release

Tacloban City (29 July) -- Republic Act 9208 also known as Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, institute government policies to eliminate trafficking in persons, especially women and children... It establishes the necessary mechanisms to protect and support trafficked persons, and provides penalties for violations.

With the creation of this law, the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Justice (DOJ) and other agency concerned was instructed under the provisions of R.A 9208 to use their vast resources for prevention, detection, capturing and prosecution of the offender and safeguard the victims of all sorts that is available to her.

The Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) has developed an operating system called Philippine Information System on Trafficking (Philist) under the project of Strengthening the Enabling Environment to Improve Response to Trafficking in Persons and Related Cases (STEER).

According to Ms. Anna Lee M. Fos, National Project Coordinator of STEER during the Anti-Trafficking in Persons- Local Technical Working Group (ATIP-LTWG) meeting held yesterday at Hotel Alejandro, this city, that Philippine Information System on Trafficking (Philist) is an operating system designed to have a permanent data banking of cases involving trafficking in persons and other acts of human smuggling embraced under R.A 9208.

Ms. Fos further said, that with the availability of database, law enforcement agencies and DSWD can easily monitor the activities both of the offender and the victim. From the time the occurrence of illegal activities entered into the blotter of the law enforcement agencies, the information was likewise entered into the Philist who in turn the commencement or source of sorting out for investigation, intelligence and case build-up that will result in the apprehension of the offender and free the victims.

Upon installation of the Philist software, law enforcement agencies can start installing information that occurred or transpired during 2004 up to the present depending of the available data, she said.

In her report, Ms. Fos revealed that their agency monitored 177 incidents, 658 victims from 2002, current of which 45 pending cases, 9 dismissed, 20 withdrawn and 22 trafficking in persons prevented.

Ms. Fos urged the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) partnership to offer free legal assistance to trafficking in person victims inorder to have more prosecution and spare the victims of wanton worries on financial difficulties.

Atty. Diloy of Public Attorney's Office (PAO) lawyer revealed that they only cater if the victim is indigent with legal problems but when it comes to imputation or prosecution arising in a criminal offense the victims lawyer is the prosecutor or solicitor general as the case maybe, and the PAO lawyer is at the aid of the offender if he is indigent and no lawyer to represent, he said.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Regional Administrator Rose P. Jervoso, commended the effort of Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO) in looking for the welfare of the overseas workers across the globe for providing legal, technical and financial aid to the victims abused and trafficked; and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) for its expertise and technical capabilities for disseminating information that reach to the remotest and deepest grassroots of the entire archipelago.