The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) recently lauded the "all-out support" by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the government's campaign against human trafficking.
Department of Justice (DoJ) Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, IACAT head, said the DBM's support "further underscores the resolve of the present Administration to render the human trafficking menace a fatal blow".
Salazar issued the statement after the DBM approved in full the P100 million budget of the IACAT for 2013 as requested by the DoJ.
Salazar said the positive response of DBM Secretary Florencio Abad to the budget request "will further increase the capability of government agencies and its private sector partners in tracking down and prosecuting criminal elements and organized syndicates involved in human trafficking".
"Secretary Abad's support will also further boost our resources for public information and education designed to thwart the victimization process by human trafficking syndicates," Salazar said.
"The DBM support will also go a long way in helping the IACAT in its victim rescue and rehabilitation efforts," Salazar added.
Salazar also explained that the DBM action "is consistent with the recommendations of the Global Trafficking In Persons (GTIP) Report released by the US State Department (USDS) last June 19, 2012 in Washington, DC by Secretary Hillary Clinton.
The GTIP recommended that the Philippines increase funding for anti-trafficking programs of the IACAT member agencies to sustain its intensified efforts to pursue and prosecute trafficking offenders.
The Philippines maintained its Tier 2 (T2) status for 2011 according to the GTIP Report as assessed by the USDS.
"The gains cited by the Report highlights the effectiveness of the framework established by the government to respond to the unconventional Philippine setting in battling the global problem of human trafficking, and the DBM's approval of our budget for 2013 is a recognition and acknowledgement of the importance of what we do." Salazar added.
