Philippines keeps Tier 1 status, but efforts to address trafficking lacking — US report

Seven Filipina wards from the Philippine Embassy shelter in Damascus take a picture before boarding their flight back to the Philippines on Feb. 25, 2021. The wards, along with 31 others, are victims of human trafficking who were illegally hired to work in Syria.

Department of Foreign Affairs / Release

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continued to fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but failed to report vigorously probing labor trafficking crimes and holding accountable officials complicit to the crimes, the United States said in its annual report.

The Philippines kept its Tier 1 ranking in the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the US State Department. Tier 1 ranking — the highest ranking — indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem that meet the standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. The Philippines has maintained its Tier 1 ranking since 2016.

“The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity,” the report read.

Full Story: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/07/20/2196734/philippines-keeps-tier-1-status-efforts-address-trafficking-lacking-us-report