A Legal Task Force was formed to effectively and expeditiously prosecute human trafficking cases in the country.
The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Monday, Oct. 7, signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
“The signing of this MOA for the creation of the IACAT-OPG-OSG Legal Task Force signifies our strong resolve to not only give justice to all victims of human trafficking but a message to perpetrators on how serious we are in prosecuting and convicting them in order for us to completely eradicate this crime,” DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty said during the signing ceremony in Makati City.
With the collaboration of IACAT, OPG and OSG, Ty -- the DOJ undersecretary incharge of the council -- expressed confidence that “we would achieve our common goal to end human trafficking and save many lives."
The MOA was signed by Ty, Officer-In-Charge Prosecutor General Richard Anthony D. Fadullon, and Assistant Prosecutor General Thomas M. Laragan on behalf of Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra.
“Despite the Tier 1 ranking of the Philippines for nine consecutive years, we continue to deal with emerging threats in the trafficking of persons and increasing cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children due to the vulnerabilities we face as a nation,” Ty said.
“With this, the Department of Justice is firm in its resolve to combat this issue by continuing to build partnership with other government agencies and the private sector,” he also said.
Fadullon, on the other hand, reminded that “human trafficking can be committed in so many ways.”
“It is a heinous crime that requires stringent and very meticulous approach. The case for human trafficking can branch out to the filing of other cases such as money laundering, large scale illegal recruitment, and civil forfeiture cases, and other cases that may be applicable depending on the type of human trafficking case you have,” he said.
“To successfully investigate, prosecute, and get a conviction in the case of human trafficking a multi-agency approach is necessary to ensure that the desired result is achieved.Coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among the various agencies of government is essential,” he also said.