WELCOME REMARKS OF THE CHAIRPERSON,

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

PARLIAMENTARY VISIT OF THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
19 NOVEMBER 2019, 1800H

On behalf of the House Committee on Human Rights of the Republic of the Philippines,
this humble representation welcomes the Honorable Members of the Parliament of Uganda
headed by Hon. Herbert Edmund Okworo Ariko, Hon. Henry Maurice Kibalya, Hon. Agnes
Kumihira, together with the General Counsel to Parliament, Mr. Pius Perry Biribonwoha, Senior
Legal Counsel, Ms. Esther Freda Apolat and Ms. Beatrice Gladys Geria, the focal point person
of this delegation.
We are more than grateful for this rare opportunity to have this meaningful, albeit brief
exchange with our fellow legislators who have travelled some 10, 000 kilometers off the globe,
in order to seek our relevant experiences in lawmaking and policy implementation on the matter
of modern-day slavery.
The tough efforts against human trafficking of the Philippines has been consistently
recognized by the United States Department of State in its Trafficking of Persons Report as
being exemplary in East Asia and the Pacific, and that the Philippine government fully falls
within the Tier 1 category of nations which have met the minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking and have demonstrated serious and sustainable implementation of laws and policies
combatting it. It has been a coveted distinction since 2016, which our country proudly shares
with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
This formula for success, if I may call it such, is highly attributable to the commendable
endeavors of the members of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the
Departments of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Local Government, Social Welfare and
Development as Co-Chair, and the Department of Justice as Chair. Other Members include the
Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Philippine National Police, Philippine Center for
Transnational Crimes, Philippine Commission on Women, Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration, and sectoral organizations representing overseas migrant workers, children and
women.
The IACAT is a creation under the law, Republic Act No. 9208, otherwise known as the
Anti-Trafficking in Persons of 2003, which was amended by RA 10364, or the Expanded Anti-
Trafficking in Persons Act. Trafficking in persons, in its most basic definition, is a blatant
violation of human rights, it is an affront to human dignity and is patently illegal.
The House Committee on Human Rights which I chair has passed Republic Act No.
9851, also known as the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law,
Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity" which has defined enslavement, sexual slavery
and enforced prostitution as crimes against humanity.
The three elements, which involve the acts of recruiting, obtaining, hiring, providing,
offering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons, with or without
the victim’s consent or knowledge, within or across national borders; when committed by the use
WELCOME REMARKS OF THE CHAIRPERSON,
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PARLIAMENTARY VISIT OF THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
19 NOVEMBER 2019, 1800H
of threat, or of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or
position, taking advantage of vulnerability of the person, or the giving or receiving of payments
or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person; and when it is
done for the purpose of exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual
exploitation, forced labor of services, slavery, involuntary servitude or the removal or sale of
organs, constitute the offense of trafficking. All of these elements are inter-related and inter-
dependent, and the absence of any of these elements would not therefore constitute the offense,
except when it involves the trafficking of children.
More importantly, the laws and policies of the Philippines ensure that ample legal
protection as well as free legal assistance are given to the victims of trafficking; there is a
witness protection program that provides security protection, immunity from criminal
prosecution, secure housing facility, livelihood assistance, among others, including
compensation to victims under the Board of Claims; and the right to privacy and confidentiality
of the trafficked persons are observed by law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court
personnel, social workers, medical doctors and personnel, as well as all parties to the case,
during the investigation, rescue, prosecution and trial.
Lastly, the best practices of the government have been anchored on these special laws
and other relevant laws, taking their cue from the 1987 Philippine Constitution which mandates
under its Bill of Rights, Article III, Section 18 (2) that “no involuntary servitude in any form
shall exist except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
At the heart of all these legislative enactments and vigorous policies lie the categorical
imperative to respect the rights, vulnerabilities and sensibilities of the trafficked persons, in
whatever situation they may have been rescued, with the deepened understanding of their plight,
and how best to uphold their human dignity in their most deplorable state of helplessness and
abuse.

Thank you and good morning.