The Philippines maintained its Tier One status in the United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the US State Department said Friday.

This is the eighth consecutive year that the country has been placed in the top status.

The report said the Philippines has been able to meet the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'' These efforts included investigating more trafficking crimes, convicting more traffickers, amending its anti-trafficking law, increasing funding to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), and sentencing nearly all traffickers to significant prison terms. The government approved a new NAP and consulted survivors during its development,'' the report said.

''Although the government meets the minimum standards, it did not vigorously investigate or prosecute labor trafficking crimes that occurred within the Philippines,” it added.

Among the report's recommendations were investigating and prosecuting ''traffickers, including labor traffickers and complicit officials, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.''

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco expressed the agency's dedication to safeguarding the welfare of Filipinos.

"We will continue to protect our kababayans from this modern day slavery," he said in a statement.

He added, “The Bureau of Immigration remains steadfast in its commitment to fighting this crime and ensuring the safety and well-being of our citizens abroad."

The TIP report examines government efforts worldwide to fight against human trafficking and emphasized strategies to address this crime and protect the victims, as mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

The 2023 report, which is the 23rd edition, covers 188 countries and territories.

The report said while Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not show that a country has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the crime but that the government has made efforts to address the problem that meets the TVPA’s minimum standards.

To keep this ranking, the country’s government must “demonstrate appreciable progress each year in combating trafficking”, it said.

Meanwhile, Japan was among the countries placed in Tier 2 or those that do not fully comply with TVPA’s minimum standards but “are making significant efforts” to meet them. Jaspearl Tan/DMS