His Excellency, U.S. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone;
The Honorable Mr. Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development;
Mr. John Tsagronis, USAID Senior Policy Advisor;
Mr. Michael J. Yates, Director of USAID-Philippines;
Mr. Robert Wuertz, Chief, Office of Economic Development and Governance, USAID-Philippines,
Fr. James B. Reuter, National Office of Mass Media
Members of the United States delegation,
Co-workers in government,
Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

When I addressed the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly just over a week ago, I joined many other speakers in emphasizing the importance of gathering global efforts on behalf of the fight against human trafficking.  I said that within the time it takes to watch a Broadway show, 250 more people would have been trafficked, many of them women and children.

In a world where borders are increasingly becoming geographic artifacts, and for a country like the Philippines, with a migration rate that makes it a truly global nation, eliminating human trafficking has a profound urgency.

The Philippines, as a labor-sending country, gives priority to the passage of labor welfare and anti-trafficking measures.  Despite limited resources, the Philippine government is also supporting several programs in the areas of prevention and protection.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, along with the other members of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), continue to work together with our friends from the different non-governmental organizations and the private sector in formulating policies and coordinating and monitoring the implementation of anti-trafficking projects.

Indeed, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. In support of the third pillar of Philippine foreign policy, enunciated by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to protect the rights and promote the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, we remain committed to undertake serious and sustained efforts to eliminate trafficking and provide assistance to distressed Filipino migrants.

With the continued cooperation among the different government agencies and non-governmental organizations, I am confident that we will be able to hurdle this challenge.

The Philippines and USAID have a long history and partnership.  It is a partnership that has been marked by  projects and activities that have benefited the Filipino people, particularly the sectors of Philippine society that require special attention.  Our search for peace and our quest for development in Mindanao have received welcome boosts from USAID, and we are able to once again dream of peace and hope for progress in Mindanao.

It is a partnership that has, over the past thirty years, brought almost $4 billion in development assistance to the Philippines.  Today we extend that partnership to our common commitment to win the war against global trafficking.

It is in this context that I express our deep appreciation for the three (3) new USAID-funded anti-trafficking in persons grants that we launched this afternoon.  And we are honored to have no less than Secretary Andrew Natsios to join us here today and receive the thanks of a grateful nation.

Thank you.

*See PR SFA-AGR-631-04 “DFA HOSTS LAUNCHING OF US-FUNDED PROJECTS ON ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS”