The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has extended aid to 1,400 human trafficking victims nationwide in the first half of this year.

The agency’s implementation of Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons (RRPTP) includes services such as psycho-social, medical, legal, transportation, livelihood, and educational assistance, as well as temporary shelter when necessary, reported RH 5 Val Gonzales.

“It’s a comprehensive program, I say comprehensive because ito ay ginagamitan ng case management approach. Gusto ko lang po i-highlight yung proseso, from rescue to recovery to reintegration because that’s how the program works,” DSWD Protective Services Bureau Director Alfrey Gulla said in a press release.

“During rescue, nandiyan ang ating social workers, they assess the needs ng ating mga kliyente—we call them ‘victim-survivors,’ yun po ang term natin sa kanila. And then during sa rescue, nandiyan na ang ating social workers nagbibigay ng psychosocial interventions, mayroon pang ibang services, like nagbibigay ng hot meals, hygiene kits, mga sabon, malong, mga ganyan,” he continued.

Gulla said that the agency has been acting in partnership with local government units (LGUs) in carrying out programs to combat human trafficking. These LGUs, he said, help by rescuing and processing victims.

The bureau director added that the DSWD not only ensures that the victim resumes normal daily living, but its social workers also monitor them to protect them from falling prey again.

Human trafficking, the agency said, occurs at both domestic and international levels, characterized by illegal recruitment, debt bondage, slavery, sexual exploitation, organ removal, and forced labor.