Pinoy battling human trafficking honored by US State Dept

A FILIPINO was among those honored by the US State Department in its 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report, saying his efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking were among the reasons why the Philippines was able to maintain its Tier 1 ranking in the report.

The State Department recognized Samson Inocencio Jr., vice president of the International Justice Mission (IJM) Philippines Program Against Online Sexual Exploitation as one of the 2024 TIP Report Heroes.

“Samson ‘Sam’ Inocencio has dedicated over 20 years to combating trafficking in persons through his work with the International Justice Mission Philippines. He has contributed to 147 convictions for commercial sexual exploitation and 220 for online sexual exploitation (OSEC) crimes since 2005,” the State Department said.

It said that after becoming national director of IJM in 2016, Inocencio assisted in the removal of 544 children from situations of commercial sexual exploitation and 1,237 children who were at risk of OSEC.

“He collaborated with the Government of the Philippines in 2016 to develop a ‘roadmap to Tier 1’ in the US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report,” it said, adding the Philippines has been ranked Tier 1 for several years now due to his efforts.

“Sam’s leadership and dedicated service have strengthened the government and civil society’s response to trafficking and protected thousands, especially children, from exploitation,” the State Department added.

Countries on Tier 1 ranking — the highest ranking — are those that meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, with governments showing serious and sustained efforts to convict more human traffickers, identify victims and improve efforts to prevent more victims.

The Philippines has maintained its Tier 1 ranking since 2016.

Aside from the Philippines, also included in the Tier 1 ranking are Argentina, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Guyana, Iceland, Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Poland, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, United