Special task force to protect Filipino entertainers in Japan
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, by virtue of Executive Order No. 406 signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita on Feb. 8, 2005, created the Special Task Force on Human Trafficking composed of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Departments of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Justice (DOJ), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the legitimate Filipino overseas performing artist (OPA) industry.

According to Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas, the President attached the said task force to the DOLE with the principal mission to set up “friendly and cordial relations via dialogues with Japanese authorities with regards to the status and welfrare of Filipino entertainers affected by Japan’s new Immigration Control Policy.” The Task Force shall focus on data gathering, investigation and analysis, and in formulating and developing programs, inputs, and systems to help achieve Philippine-Japan objectives in solving the human trafficking problem.