THE Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat)-Davao Region recorded 95 cases filed in court for anti-trafficking in persons since December 2016.
Records obtained from the Iacat showed that of the 95 cases, 14 resulted to conviction, 14 were dismissed, four were withdrawn, 12 were archived, six were acquitted and 45 cases are still active.
Davao Regional Prosecutor’s Office Deputy Prosecutor Barbara Mae Flores said most of the persons convicted were female pimps.
She added their penalty ranges from 15 years of imprisonment to life imprisonment.
“The reason for the cases withdrawn is due to lack of evidence or [there were] no evidence at all once the complainant cannot be seen anymore. There were also instances that the accused will plea bargain,” Flores said.
Flores said the 95 cases include 149 accused, of which 73 are females (46 are detained and 27 are still at large) and 76 males (38 are detained and 38 are at still large).
She said there were 145 victims in the 95 cases filed in court, of which 130 are females (84 minors and 46 adults) and 15 are males (12 minors and three adults).
Among the 149 accused were a New Zealander national and three Americans, who are currently detained; and three Koreans and one British, who are still at large.
“There is an increase in the cases filed in court. There were about 10 additional cases that were filed this year, and this is because of the increasing awareness of the public,” Flores said.
Flores also attributed the cases filed in court to the efforts of the local government units, prosecution office, and members of the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Immigration, and social workers, among others.
Some notable projects and gains of the Iacat-Davao Region in 2015 and 2016 are training of the law enforcers and social workers, video infomercial competition and playing of winning entries in cinemas and taxicabs, and the mural paintings.
For the first time, Flores said, the Philippines was placed in Tier 1, the highest ranking, in United States of America's (USA’s) Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report in 2016.
The TIP Report is the US government's principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world's most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts.
“A Tier 1 ranking indicates that the government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking. It made efforts to address the issue, and complies with The Victims Protection Act's (TVPA-US law) minimum standards,” Flores said.
The Philippines has noted 3,065 cases filed in court for the anti-trafficking in persons as of 2016.
It already has 273 convictions with 303 persons convicted since 2005.