The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday lauded the efforts of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to prevent the trafficking of some 5,000 Filipinos to other countries in the first semester of 2009.

In a data earlier released by the BI, it showed that 2,976 passengers were rescued at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City and 2,186 persons were offloaded at the Clark Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Most of the victims were undocumented Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

There were also 242 passengers who were prevented from leaving the country at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, 118 in Zamboanga, and two in Subic, Zambales.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the bureau’s strengthened vigilance will prevent the Philippines from being used as a transit point for human trafficking and illegal recruitment.

“The war against human trafficking of Filipinos will not end as long as there are fellow Filipinos who run and/or connive with trafficking syndicates to victimize those among us who seek better opportunities for themselves and their families,” Cabral said.

“Human trafficking syndicates and illegal recruiters prey on poor, depressed and displaced persons in our provinces and cities, enticing them with good jobs. The victims eventually end up in prostitution dens or sweat shops. That’s why we must strictly enforce anti-trafficking laws to protect our people, especially the poor and vulnerable,” she pointed out.

The DSWD, for its part, has served at least 200 victims of human trafficking, mostly women (105) and children (111), through various social services such as trauma therapy, crisis counselling, and healing procedures.

Cabral committed that the DSWD will continue to intensify its efforts to address the needs of the victims of trafficking, especially those in other countries, through its regular program called the International Social Welfare Services for Filipino Nationals.

“Under this program, the DSWD will designate social welfare attachés to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Korea, Riyadh, and Jordan to address the needs and concerns of our Filipino workers in these countries,” she explained.

A recent report of the Visayan Forum Foundation said the concentration of human trafficking cases in the Philippines for the last three years is in Mindanao, which includes the provinces of Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Davao.