MCC, MCA-P, DPWH wage war vs human trafficking

MILLENNIUM Challenge Corp. MCC and Millennium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P) have convinced the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to institutionalize zero tolerance on trafficking in persons in all its infrastructure projects all over the Philippines.

The new policy will be undertaken through capacity building of DPWH employees and staff from its 18 regional offices including the central office, as well as adoption of an antiTIP policy. The Anti-TIP effort is expected to increase the capacity, knowledge and skills of concerned DPWH personnel on various anti-TIP measures for integration in different phases of construction using the “Toolkit for Making Road Infrastructure Projects Gender Responsive.”

MCC and MCA-P pioneered the anti-TIP advocacy in infrastructure development in the Philippines in the implementation of the Secondary National Roads Development Project (SNRDP), a 222-kilometer road rehabilitation project in the provinces of Eastern Samar and Samar, identified as TIP hotspots.

The influx of labor needed by wide- scale construction work, such as SNRDP, is believed to increase the vulnerability of communities to TIP, thus, prompting DPWH, MCC and MCA- P to work together not only to deliver safer roads to the people of Samar and Eastern Samar but also to protect the rights of vulnerable communities, particularly women and children, from TIP.

Undersecretary Maria Catalina S. Cabral, DPWH Committee on Gender and Development ( COGAD) Chairp, in her speech at the opening of the first batch of Training of Trainers last Feb. 10, 2016, expressed DPWH’s commitment to pursue, sustain and mainstream SNRDP’s unprecedented anti-TIP efforts by incorporating anti-TIP initiatives to the DPWH Gender Toolkit to further the department’s efforts toward gender responsive and sensitive infrastructure.

MCC Deputy Resident Country Director Burak C. Inanc said, “I commend the DPWH for recognizing the importance of this issue and its own initiatives to try to fight trafficking and we’re very happy to be able to support DPWH in its initiatives in this area. DPWH is really in a unique position to be able to make change and to have a better fight against trafficking in persons within its projects.”

MCA- P Managing Director and CEO Ma. Victoria E. Añonuevo in her inspirational message remarked, “I personally have no doubt that if we remain steadfast in fighting TIP, we will eventually break the vicious cycle that robs human beings of their dignity and hinders our growth as a nation. A herculean task but we are optimistic, that our partnership will pave the way to strengthen the DPWH’s resolve to move toward a gender- responsive organization, with utmost consideration on the welfare of every individual affected by infrastructure projects.”

For her part, MCA- P Deputy Managing Director for Operations Bingle Gutierrez noted, “We are proud to say that what we did in SNRDP, as far as TIP is concerned, is a pioneering effort. We are very happy that DPWH has supported and came up with bright ideas on how to sustain these initiatives.”