ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Intensify drive vs human trafficking — PBBM

Intensify drive vs human trafficking — PBBM

Published Aug 26, 2023 08:14 am

At A Glance

  • Marcos is set to discuss the issue of human trafficking with his fellow Southeast Asian leaders at the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia in September.
  • Marcos wants the Philippines to maintain its Tier 1 ranking that it got in 2022.
  • The Tier 1 ranking indicates that a country fully complies with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and is actively working to address the issue.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other government agencies to intensify their efforts against human trafficking, and maintain the country's Tier 1 ranking by the US State Department, a Justice official said.

BBM US ASEAN meeting.jpg
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. (Malacañang photo)

DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said this days ahead of Marcos' attendance at the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, from Sept. 5 to 7, where he is expected to discuss the issue with his fellow ASEAN leaders.

In a media forum, Clavano said the President has issued specific instructions to maintain the country's Tier 1 ranking.

The Tier 1 ranking is the highest classification given by the US State Department, indicating that a country fully complies with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking and is actively working to address the issue.

"We have given the President a situationer previously on the area of human trafficking, and he understands very clearly the depth and how widespread this problem is," Clavano said.

"In fact, he has given specific instructions to maintain our Tier 1 ranking. That means he will support all the facets and all the programs that the IACAT has already put in place, and he would like to enhance those programs," he added, referring to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking.

The IACAT recently issued the 2023 Revised Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Guidelines on Departure Formalities for International-bound Filipino Passengers, which Clavano said could aid authorities in fighting human trafficking.

According to Clavano, the revised guidelines are part of the efforts to maintain the country's Tier 1 ranking.

"Although we have already been given the Tier 1 ranking for 2022, we felt we could further enhance our own operations against human trafficking," he said.

During the forum, Clavano said the Philippine population is "very migratory," with 10 percent of Filipinos seeking to travel abroad and find opportunities there. To resolve this, he said the government must establish or create more jobs in the country to limit opportunities for human trafficking.

Aside from the revised guidelines, IACAT and the DOJ are working with their ASEAN partners to strengthen cooperation against transnational crime. They also identified hotspots for human trafficking for Filipinos, such as Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

"So, the international nature, or the cross-boundary or transboundary nature of the crime is something that we are really looking into," Clavano said.

"We engage with our counterparts from the different countries so we can gather the best practices and keep up with the trends currently being seen in the trafficking industry or area," he added.

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos ASEAN Summit tier 1 Mico Clavano human trafficking IACAT President Marcos
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.