Japan, RP govts are not doing appropriate policy actions to protect trafficking victims

Both the Junichiro Koizumi and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administrations are not addressing the issue of human trafficking with the Partial Amendment of the Japan Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act that will victimize most of all overseas Filipinos in Japan.

It is not only a case of barking at the wrong tree. It is much worse as both governments are not addressing the issue of human trafficking as they allege. The truth is both the Philippine and Japanese governments are guilty of rampant human trafficking. The Japanese government effort is in reaction to the June 2004 Trafficking In Persons Report of the United States Department of State that specifies Japan as a Tier 2 - Watch List nation for being 'a destination country for Asian, Latin American, and Eastern European women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.

According to the same Report, the Philippines is also a Tier 2 - Watch List nation! The Republic of the Philippines "is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor."

Migrante has been calling on the Macapagal-Arroyo government since January 1 to appropriately respond to the Partial Amendment of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Law No. 73 enacted by the Japanese Diet in its 159th session on June 2, 2004) that will ride roughshod on victims of human trafficking in Japan this year.

Obviously both governments are looking into the wrong solutions and are deceiving the public in the process in saying that they 'have concern for Filipino women who are forced to work as entertainers in Japan.' The said Immigration Control aims to immediately decrease the number of the estimated 250,000 'illegal foreign residents' that include at least 31,000 Filipino overstayers, 82,000 Filipino entertainers, and thousands of Filipino wives whose residency status can be revoked by the Japanese government starting December 2, 2004.

This new law criminalizes entertainers, trainees, Filipina wives and undocumented Filipinos (also called 'bilogs') who comprise the bulk of Filipinos in Japan. Technically, most of all the 304,678 Filipinos in Japan may be subjected to the harsh penalties and procedures of the new Japanese law. The Human traffickers will go scot-free, continue wreaking havoc on the lives of foreign residents, and continue to amass more profits out of the blood and sweat of Filipino migrant workers. It actually does not address the human trafficking problem by both the Japanese and Philippine governments for so many years.

Contrary to the Malacanang statements, the new law stipulates that human trafficking victims will be deported as illegal aliens under after being meted bigger fines that range from 2 million Japanese Yen (P1.1 million) to 3 million Japanese Yen (P1.65 million at current exchange rates of P0.55 = 1 Yen), and jail terms. This shows that the Japanese authorities will further penalize Filipino victims of human trafficking.