The Supreme Court through the Philippine Judicial Academy in partnership with the Australian Government’s Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Person launched a new training course and resource materials for judges and other trafficking responders as part of the fight against human trafficking, at the Supreme Court’s Dignitaries Lounge, Ermita, Manila.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, former Justice and Philja Chancellor Adolfo Azcuna, Philja Academic Affairs Chief Justice Delilah Magtolis, and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorley attended the event.
According to Sereno, “The Supreme Court and the Philippines is aggressively pushing for many reforms in the past years, where decisions on TIP and other cases come out speedily and we are taking a strong stand for justice.”
She added that, “As a Filipino, we have the bragging rights excelling in almost everything as known globally but we are poor in documenting our efforts especially on the good practices that can be shared to the world. The modules on TIP, being encapsulated, will allow us to leverage as a people.”
She vowed to continue dedicating time and resources in providing training for all criminal justice actors throughout the country to combat trafficking in the Philippines. She also wishes to collaborate with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in providing training to other ASEAN countries through the ASEAN Council of Chief Justices, a recently developed regional body with the Philippines taking the lead on sharing best practices.
Azcuna, on the other hand said, “The TIP handbooks are demand-driven, prepared by the greatest and best.” The Advanced Competency Enhancement Training on TIP is the first of its kind in the Philippines and focuses on sharing advanced techniques on handling human trafficking cases with a holistic approach. It contains lectures, case studies, videos, discussions and mock trials.
