The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) has opened its own shelter for victims of human trafficking.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, IACAT undersecretary-in-charge, said on Friday the IACAT’s Tahanan ng Iyong Pag-Asa (TIP) opened on Thursday, Dec. 17, to serve as a “one-stop center for victims of human trafficking.”
“The IACAT TIP Center is a temporary shelter for victims of trafficking in persons while they are waiting to be brought home to the province, while they are processing some requirements or documents in Metro Manila, or while foster families are still being arranged for minor victims, or until they are successfully reintegrated back into society,” Villar explained.
“It also serves as a one-stop-center for all concerns of victims of trafficking where all the government agencies necessary to handle their concerns regarding trafficking are present—the DOJ, DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), PNP-WCPC (Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center). The victims need not go from one office to another,” she added.
The TIP Center opened following a 16-month construction that was conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at a site inside the DSWD Sanctuary Center Welfareville in Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City that was allocated by DSWD Sec. Roly Bautista.
Villar said the IACAT is also looking to build a livelihood center beside the TIP Center next year.
“The livelihood center will provide training to victims of trafficking so they can develop the skills and knowledge to be able to start a new livelihood and be successfully reintegrated into society,” she said.
Villar expressed hope that the IACAT will be able to build more TIP Centers, especially in areas where there are high incidence of trafficking.