Lawmakers and civil society groups have agreed on proposals to change laws and intensify action on human trafficking from the Philippines.

The proposals came at a July 22 dialogue on human trafficking between civil society and leaders in government held in Manila.

Officials, legislators and civic leaders, including members of Laura Vicuna Foundation of the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, and the Center for Overseas Workers of the Religious of the Good Shepherd listened to survivors of human trafficking operations, and the lawyer who prosecuted the first human trafficking case tried in the country.

In 2005, Darlene Pajarito, Assistant City Prosecutor of Zamboanga City, successfully prosecuted three members of a syndicate who were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of 2 million pesos (US$43,000) for trafficking.

Pajarito moved for the inclusion of a legal “rape shield” as one of the amendments of the law to protect complainants. Currently, the anti-trafficking law allows defense lawyers to cross-examine complainants on their alleged “loose morals.”

Lawyer Gwendolyn Gana, president of the Association of Child Caring Agencies of the Philippines (ACCAP) proposed changes to Section 7 of the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2003 which prohibits law enforcement agencies and the media from publicizing information about known human trafficking syndicates.

This provides a cloak of anonymity to suspects and makes them even more difficult to apprehend, Gana told the conference.

A 41-year-old mother of three told the gathering that she had left her job in a garment factory in March 2007 after being promised a “good” salary as a maid in Malaysia.

There, her employer fed her only bread once a day and forced her to work from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. He also beat her regularly before stopping her pay. She finally escaped with the help of the Philippines Embassy in July 2007.

A case that she filed three years ago against her labor recruiter at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court branch 200 is still pending.

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