03 March 2015 - The Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR conducted on February 26 an Echo Training on Anti-Trafficking in Persons (TIP) to strengthen the Consulate General’s efforts in combating human trafficking.

The Echo Training was a follow-up to the Regional Workshop on Anti-Trafficking in Persons for Foreign Service Posts in Asia and the Pacific conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs from December 11 to 15, 2014 in Osaka, Japan. 

The Regional Workshop was held in partnership with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as other Philippine Government agencies involved in the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). 

Forty (40) Consulate General personnel attended the training which focused on issues concerning TIP, the role of Philippine Foreign Service Posts in combating TIP, efforts in addressing TIP by the Philippine and Hong Kong SAR governments, and the protocols in dealing with trafficking victims.

The training included case studies to further enhance the skills of the participants, especially those providing frontline services, in identifying potential TIP cases.

The Philippine Consulate General intends to conduct this year a similar echo training for Filipino community leaders. END