As delivered labor market strategy to reduce the school-to-work transition of our youth, Republic Act 10869 was signed into law institutionalizing the nationwide implementation of the Jobstart Philippines by giving priority to the participation of the disadvantaged youth – persons with disabilities (PWDs), indigents, and young women in said programs. The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 provided stricter penalties for traffickers and more protection for victims. A strengthened Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking, we call it IACAT, has led efforts to improve prevention, law enforcement, prosecution, protection, recovery and reintegration of victims as well as established partnerships at the national, regional and international levels. The Philippines, through IACAT, has committed to sustain transparent, accountable and responsive anti-trafficking initiatives in the country and overseas. To date, the Philippines has secured 238 convictions involving 263 convicted felons since 2005. All the women victims were given legal and social welfare assistance. We are pleased to inform this Committee that in the 2016 Global TIP report of the US Department of State, released on 30 June 2016, the Philippines has been upgraded to Tier 1, the highest rank a country may receive under the United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This means that the Philippines has made significant efforts to address the problem and complies with the standards for eliminating human trafficking. Two weeks earlier, an Australian-based Global Slavery Initiative by Walk Free Foundation also ranked the Philippines as number 1 in Asia, and 3rd in Asia-Pacific, Page 7 of 16