MANILA - Acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera on Thursday ordered the fast-tracking of human trafficking cases after the United States' Department of State downgraded the country in its human trafficking watchlist.

The State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released since US President Barack Obama took office, said the Philippines is a "source, transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor."

Devanadera ordered fiscals to request judges to fast-track human trafficking-related cases.

The US report stated that only 97 out of 168 cases have reached the courts, and only four convictions have been made throughout 2008.

More than 200 cases are also pending in the courts since the anti-human trafficking law came into effect in 2003.

Disappointment

Meanwhile, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Severino Gana Jr., chairman of the Task Force on Trafficking of Persons, was not able to hide his disappointment over the US State Department report.

"We've done the best we can but they're still focused on convictions. We're disappointed, but we will still do what we'll have to do," Gana said.

Gana said convictions are hard to come by because of the country's "slow" judicial system, and that they have a hard time having witnesses to cooperate.

He also said the task force has not been given the necessary funds.

He, however, hopes that the US would be able to see the country's progress in the field, not just the failures.

Gana also warned that it would be a problem if the conviction rate on human trafficking cases won't be resolved, because the US might drop its financial aid if the country remains on its Tier 2 watchlist.

"If we fall sa Tier 3 category, they will stop giving us economic aid, military aid, and other forms of assistance," he said.

'Source, transit and destination'

The latest Trafficking in Persons report said a significant number of Filipino men and women who migrate abroad for work are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in places such as Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

"Filipinas are also trafficked abroad for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Western Europe," the report said.

The US State Department said the Philippines was placed on the Tier 2 watchlist this year for failing to "show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking." The Philippines was previously ranked Tier 2 for the years 2006 to 2008.

"Although there was an increase in the number of trafficking cases filed in court, only four trafficking convictions were obtained under the 2003 anti-trafficking law during the reporting period, and there were no reported labor trafficking convictions, despite widespread reports of Filipinos trafficked for forced labor within the country and abroad," the report said. With reports from Marieton Pacheco, ABS-CBN News, and David Dizon, abs-cbnNEWS.com