US embassy cable - 05MANILA5633

UNCLAS MANILA 005633 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/TIP, EAP/RSP, INL, DRL/IL, DRL/CRA 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID FOR ANE/TS - L. SAULS 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, KCRM, RP 
SUBJECT:  GRP CONVICTS FIRST TRAFFICKERS UNDER ANTI-TIP LAW 
 
REF: A. MANILA 5373 
 
     B. MANILA 5326 
     C. MANILA 4831 
     D. MANILA 3500 
 
1.  (U) This message is Sensitive But Unclassified -- 
Please handle accordingly. 
 
2.  (SBU) Summary:  A court in Batangas City, Luzon recently 
convicted the first three individuals under a 2003 anti- 
trafficking law.  The defendants, facing a serious charge 
with the potential for a long jail term, pled guilty to a 
lesser offense, resulting in a sentence of six months 
community service and a 50,000 peso (USD 940) fine.  A 
Philippine Department of Justice (DoJ) call for reports on 
all TIP cases in regional, provincial, and city courts 
revealed that a court in Mindanao had convicted another 
individual of "white slavery" under a separate anti- 
prostitution statute in April.  End Summary. 
 
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First Convictions 
----------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) On November 9, 11, and 14, the Fourth Regional 
Trial Court in Batangas City (located about 60 miles south 
of Manila) sentenced three individuals under R.A. 9208, the 
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.  These mark the first 
successful convictions under the anti-trafficking law, 
passed in December 2003.  The regional court originally 
charged the three, who had been peddling prostitutes on the 
street, under Section 4 of the R.A. 9208 -- "trafficking for 
the purpose of prostitution" -- which carries a maximum 
sentence of 20 years.  However, the accused reached deals 
with the prosecutor to plead guilty to the lesser offense of 
violating Section 11 of R.A. 9208 -- "engaging the services 
of trafficked persons for the purpose of prostitution."  The 
court sentenced each defendant to six months of community 
service and a 50,000 peso (USD 940) fine.  (Note:  According 
to Mission sources, the victims, who had testified when the 
cases were originally filed, failed to appear at subsequent 
trials.  This prompted the prosecutor to accept a guilty 
plea to a lesser charge.  End Note.) 
 
4.  (U) Progress on TIP cases has been slow, as is common 
among all types of cases in the Philippine judicial system. 
Of the 41 cases filed under R.A. 9208 between December 2003 
and November 2005, the recent trials in Batangas were the 
first to reach a verdict.  Overburdened judges, lack of 
resources, poor police-prosecutor cooperation, and witness 
tampering all contribute to the glacial pace of justice in 
the Philippines.  Nonetheless, increased numbers of 
government and NGO prosecutors trying TIP cases has resulted 
in a quadrupling of cases filed from 2004 to 2005 (ref B). 
Mission has actively supported this effort through training 
programs to help police, prosecutors, and social workers 
build more effective TIP cases (ref A).  Senior DoJ 
officials have promised to provide more detail on the 
Batangas cases and other pending TIP cases when they meet 
with Ambassador John Miller during his December 3-6 visit. 
 
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TIP Conviction Under a Related Statute 
-------------------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) Earlier in the year, a National Bureau of 
Investigation (NBI) sting operation led to the arrest of a 
woman in Butuan City on the island of Minanao in the 
southern Philippines.  The Regional Trial Court convicted 
the defendant on April 22, 2005 under R.A. 7610, "white 
slave trade," an anti-prostitution law that predates R.A. 
9208.  The court sentenced her to between one year and one 
day and two years, four months, and one day in jail.  DoJ 
headquarters in Manila had been unaware of this case until 
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez issued a Department-wide 
order on November 10 directing all regional, provincial, and 
city prosecutors to submit a report on trafficking cases 
within their jurisdiction. 
JONES