A United States (US) report has noted “significant progress" in the Philippines’ effort to curb human trafficking. However, the report of the US State Department did not say if the Philippines would be removed from a crucial watchlist this year. The State Department on April 5 released its interim assessment report on countries’ compliance to international anti-trafficking standards. “The Government of the Philippines demonstrated significant progress in combating trafficking in persons since the release of the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report," it said. The State Department noted the following improvements in the Philippines' fight against human trafficking:
deployment of additional anti-human trafficking personnel at Manila’s international airport; National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) increased staffing for its Anti-Human Trafficking Division; creation of an anti-trafficking in perons (TIP) task force in Angeles City, Pampanga that arrested six traffickers in three successful raids in September 2010; the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) successful blocking of the departure from the country of over 21,000 international airline passengers who were not properly documented and believed to be at risk for illegal recruitment and trafficking; Philippine prosecutors and non-government organization lawyers convicted nine sex trafficking offenders, with prison sentences ranging from six years to life imprisonment; Labor trafficking conviction However, US State Department report also pointed out that the Aquino administration has yet to obtain a labor trafficking conviction since the 2003 anti-trafficking law’s enactment. “In September, prosecutors filed criminal charges against an immigration official for facilitating the departure of undocumented overseas Filipino workers headed for the Middle East. The case is still pending," the US State Department said. “The government has filed administrative charges against 19 immigration personnel accused of other acts of trafficking-related complicity. Criminal charges have yet to be filed," it added. In 2010, the US retained the Philippines Tier 2 Watch List classification for the second straight year because of the government’s failure to prosecute trafficking crimes. Despite an order from the Philippine Supreme Court to expedite cases of human trafficking, requiring cases to be decided in 180 days upon arraignment, the US State Department said the prosecutions were still slow. Tier 2 Watch list The Blas F. Ople Policy Center, a group involved in labor migration issues, expressed optimism that the Philippines will soon be removed from the "Tier 2 Watch List" category in the Trafficking in Persons report of the US State Department. “The good news is that because of the vigorous partnerships between and among government agencies, civil society, and the media, the threat of losing $250 million in US non-humanitarian assistance has greatly diminished," center head Susan Ople said. The US State Department's website cites the following categories: Tier 1 "Countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards" Tier 2 "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards" Tier 2 Watch List "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND: a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing; or b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year" Tier 3 "Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so" US aid If the Philippines fails to be removed from the State Department’s Tier 2 watchlist this year, it would land on Tier 3 category of countries and face sanctions such as the withholding of US aid. However, the US government can issue a waiver for countries that have shown significant steps in fighting human trafficking but still cannot be taken off the Tier 2 Watch List. However, if a country, after four consecutive years on the Watch List, still fails to improve its standing, it will be placed on the Tier 3 category without a waiver and will be denied US aid. - VVP, GMA News 
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