European Union supports the Government of the Philippines in implementing anti-human trafficking and anti-illegal recruitment activities


The European Union provided a grant of EUR 115 556 or PHP 6.8 million pesos to help fight human trafficking and illegal recruitment in the Philippines. The grant will be used to strengthen the capabilities of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)and enhance the cooperation of national and local authorities in combating illegal recruitment and trafficking.

Illegal recruitment and human trafficking remain big issues in the Philippines despite stringent laws. The POEA reveals that 135 cases of illegal recruitment with 224 victims have been reported in 2011 alone.

Government and NGO estimates in 2007 have placed the number of trafficked women and children to as high as 400 000 and 100 000 respectively.In March 2014, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) urged local governments to address the issue of human trafficking at the local level through enactment and implementation of local ordinances. In 2013, the POEA signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 117 LGUs to set up help desks for overseas workers and their families in a number of cities and municipalities.Since 2006, 522 MoUs have been signed between POEA and LGUs.

Illegal recruitment and the related crime of human trafficking are some of the most urgent issues that need to be addressed not only by government but by all sectors as well", said EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux.

POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac said that "addressing illegal recruitment and human trafficking presents many challenges as these crimes happen at the level of communities.In this instance, the local governments have a big role to play because they are on the ground.Close coordination between national efforts and local actions is therefore needed. This new technical cooperation project with the EU in partnership with ICMPD will help us achieve this goal…"

Launched on July 30 in Manila, the project is financed under the Migration EU Expertise or MIEUX. It builds on the first technical cooperation with POEA under the MIEUX framework in 2012 where key results include the enhanced POEA information tools on pre-employment and pre-deployment seminars.European technical experts are in Manila to provide peer-to-peer support to POEA in crafting a guideline on monitoring of the MoU with LGUs and enhancement of their investigation and prosecution techniques.

MIEUX is an initiative jointly implemented by the EU and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) that  aims to enhance the capacities of partner countries and regional organisations to better address all areas of migration, including the fight against trafficking in human beings (THB),through a comprehensive approach to migration management by providing short-term technical assistance to both national and regional administrations worldwide.

References (contact points)
POEA: Mr. Robert Larga, Director IV - Licensing and Regulation Office
MIEUX, ICMPD: Ms Pauline DUNOYER, MIEUX Project Officer, ICMPD
EU: Thelma Gecolea, Press and Information Officer
Margarito Raynera, Programme Officer

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