CEDAW/C/PHI/5-6 convene immediately and regularly the Senior Government Working Group (SGWG) on Human Trafficking and People Smuggling, composed of the following member-agencies: the justice, labor, interior and local government, social welfare, and tourism departments, the immigration bureau, CFO, PCTC, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and NCRFW. In preparing the national strategy to address people smuggling and human trafficking, the SGWG conducted an inventory of the current initiatives of government to address existing projects, particularly the Strategic Plan that the Coalition against Trafficking in Human Beings in the Philippines developed under the auspices of the UN Center for Transnational Crime Prevention. For the elements of the national strategy, the SGWG drew on the Asian Regional Initiative Against Trafficking of Women and Children (ARIAT) Plan of Action, the existing legislative anti-trafficking proposals, and the UN Protocol on Trafficking. The draft National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking and People Smuggling was adopted by the SGWG through the signing of a covenant on 21 April 2003. However, the functions of the SGWG was adopted/transferred to the IACAT at the end of 2003. NGO advocacy and programs 201. NGOs and civil society groups have been engaged in critical advocacy for legislation, research, and delivery of services, such as shelter and pre-departure training and counseling. They also set up multi-sector watch groups and educated the public about trafficking in human beings. All these are reflected in the activities of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women in Asia Pacific (CATWAP), which has been working on the issue of trafficking for over a decade, both nationally and internationally. It has organized community-based programs to educate the youth and barangay (village) officials on trafficking in young women from vulnerable communities, such as those found in Samar, Zamboanga, and Sapang Palay in Manila. The coalition undertakes regular training programs on human rights, and has developed documentation systems on violence against women, especially trafficking. It works in partnership with more than 22 NGOs all over the Philippines to monitor incidents and the magnitude of trafficking. Among its members are WomenLEAD and SALIGAN, which provide legal assistance and advice to trafficked victims. With its international network of organizations and partners, the coalition has helped trafficking victims who returned to the country, particularly those from Japan and Korea. It is one of three NGOs nominated to sit in the IACAT, which is tasked by law to monitor and prevent trafficking in women and girls; the other two NGOs are the Philippine Migrant Rights Watch and End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT) Philippines. So far, only ECPAT has been appointed by the President to IACAT. 202. In partnership with the Philippine Ports Authority, the Visayan Forum Foundation, an NGO helping migrant child domestic workers, operates a halfway house in the Manila North harbor. It draws funding support from the Asia Foundation. The facility offers 24-hour services for victims of trafficking, especially women and children, such as emergency shelter; information assistance about travel, employment and possible support networks; quick referral of cases; telephone hotline counseling; regular outreach for stranded passengers; training and advocacy to port community members; and research and volunteer immersion. As of September 2001, the project had saved 255 from being trafficked for exploitative employment. The project partners are working towards the opening of halfway houses in other major ports in the country. In 64