A new inter-agency framework is set to change how trafficking cases involving overseas Filipino workers are reported, handled, and supported, with authorities promising faster coordination and fewer barriers for victims and their families.
Unveiled in Mandaluyong City on Thursday during the observance of International Migrants Day, the operational guidelines establish a single referral pathway for trafficking in persons cases, linking the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), the Department of Justice–Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT), and other frontline agencies.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the system is designed to speed up government action while ensuring protection for affected workers. “These guidelines strengthen our national referral mechanism by ensuring that all government agencies, service providers, and partner organizations operate within a unified, rights-based, and gender-responsive framework,” he said.
Cacdac explained that the framework clarifies how cases move across agencies and defines responsibilities from the initial report to long-term assistance. “They establish clear and harmonized procedures for referrals and to delineate institutional rules, roles, and responsibilities across all stages of trafficking in persons and ensure that potential, presumed, and formally identified trafficked persons receive timely, appropriate, and compassionate assistance,” he added.
He also cited President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s standing directive for government agencies to be present and responsive whenever OFWs require help, stressing that the guidelines go beyond administrative reform. According to Cacdac, the effort reflects a broader commitment to survivor-centered protection and stronger coordination among agencies on the ground.
As chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos, Cacdac said the DMW led the development of the framework alongside the Department of Foreign Affairs as co-chair.
For DOJ–IACAT Executive Director Hannah Lizette Manalili, the new mechanism addresses a long-standing gap faced by victims returning from abroad. She said it creates a single, institutionalized process that immediately links reports with Philippine foreign service posts and Migrant Workers Offices, ensuring assistance does not stop upon repatriation.
A key feature of the system, Manalili noted, is the use of a unified intake information sheet, which minimizes repeated questioning as cases are referred from one office to another. She said this approach reduces paperwork and helps prevent retraumatization, as information gathered at first contact will already be available to all agencies involved in assistance and case-building.
The impact of clear referral channels was highlighted by “Kurt,” a trafficking survivor who addressed the launch. “Bilang isang survivor ng human trafficking myself, nais ko din idiin yung kahalagahan ng malinaw na tulong at tamang referral. If anyone would be listening to this, who might have known someone na biktima rin, pwede niyo sila matulungan. Kasi kapag alam ng biktima kung saan lalapit at alam nilang may sasalo sa kanila, mas magiging posible yung makaligtas at makabangon (As a survivor of human trafficking myself, I also want to emphasize the importance of clear help and proper referral. If anyone is listening to this, who might have known someone who is also a victim, you can help them. Because when the victim knows where to go, and they know someone is there for them, it will be more possible to survive and recover), just like I am right now speaking in front of you all,” he said.
He added, “Nais ko pong ipaalala na hindi kami simpleng kaso lamang, tao po kami. Tao na nasaktan, natakot, ngunit patuloy na lumalaban (I want to remind you that we are not just simple cases, we are people. People who have been hurt, scared, but continue to fight).”
Labor Attaché and Migrant Workers Protection Bureau officer-in-charge Geraldine Mendez said the system ensures continuity of services from overseas posts to local communities. “So mula po sa post, dire-diretso na po yun hanggang sa makauwi yung ating survivor of human trafficking. Dire-diretso po yung service from the foreign service, pagdating po dito sa airport, pagdating po dito sa central office, hanggang makarating po siya sa probinsya, pati sa local government po niya, coordinated na po yung mga services natin (So from the post, it’s straight forward until our survivor of human trafficking returns home. The service is continuous from the foreign service, when he arrives at the airport, when he arrives at the central office, until he arrives in the province, even in his local government, our services are coordinated),” she said.
Cacdac said the guidelines have initially been rolled out to airport and law enforcement personnel in Metro Manila and will be expanded nationwide next year, covering Clark, Cebu, and Davao, with a separate set of operational rules for seaports to be developed starting in Zamboanga.
“When referral leads to action, that is when it truly impacts our citizens and our victims,” he said.
