The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will help implement a new partnership between the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) Region 2 and the Partnership for Development Assistance in the Philippines (PDAP) that will expand efforts to counter human trafficking in Cagayan Valley (Region 2).
“This partnership with USAID is not merely anchored on the similarity of our programs. We share the noble goal and common desire to end this massive humanitarian challenge in human trafficking,” IACAT Region 2 Chairperson Rommel Baligod said at the signing of the memorandum of agreement between IACAT Region 2 and PDAP at the Department of Justice Region 2 office in Tuguegarao City on January 16. “With this partnership that we forged with PDAP and USAID, it is our greatest hope that we will see significant strides in our campaign against human trafficking.”
“The United States and the Philippines share a firm commitment to end trafficking in persons. Through this partnership, we will strengthen local systems to protect individuals vulnerable to trafficking and promote the long-term safety of communities across the Cagayan Valley region,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks.
Under the partnership, USAID, IACAT Region 2, and PDAP will combat trafficking in persons by creating public advocacy campaigns to reach vulnerable populations, training frontline workers to improve their responsiveness, strengthening anti-trafficking efforts in schools and local communities, and assisting in the development and amendment of local ordinances to protect trafficking victims.
In 2019, USAID launched the eight-year, ₱364 million ($6.5 million) Strengthening Local Systems and Partnerships for a More Effective and Sustainable Counter-Trafficking in Persons (Strength CTIP) Program with PDAP. Under this program, USAID and PDAP are working together to end trafficking in persons, protect survivors, prosecute perpetrators, and foster multi-sector collaboration aligned with the recommendations of the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report and the Philippine government’s National Strategic Action Plan Against TIP.
“The forms and challenges of human trafficking have changed dramatically. PDAP will equip the region with effective community-based tools and models that our partners in nine other regions have used in countering trafficking in persons,” said Strength CTIP Chief of Party Eugenio Gonzales.
For more information about USAID’s efforts to prevent trafficking in persons, visit www.usaid.gov/trafficking.
