Bar operators get 20-year jail term for trafficking minors

Two bar operators in Daraga, Albay were sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for trafficking minors for sexual exploitation. One is the owner and the other is the cashier. They were also made to pay P1 million each in fine.

This is the second conviction this year under the Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. It is the 12th conviction since the law was passed in 2003.

The law provides for the privacy of both the trafficked person and the accused. Although the two bar operators have been convicted, they still have the option to file a motion for reconsideration.

The case involved the trafficking of four girls—ranging from 14 to 16 years old—from their homes in Paranaque and Taguig to work as guest relation officers in a bar in Daraga. They were rescued in February 2007 by the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Anti-human trafficking division, which acted on the tip of one of the victims who was able to escape and return to Manila.

The NBI operatives posed as customers. As soon as they confirmed employment of the minors in the bar, they immediately arrested the two bar operators and rescued the victims.

“Let this be a warning against human traffickers that their glory days are over and that they must immediately stop. Whether here or abroad, the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) will not leave any stone unturned in its efforts to fight the crime of human trafficking,” acting IACAT chairman Ricardo Blancaflor said in a statement.

“This is a great example of how collaboration among the Department of Justice (DOJ), law enforcement and the non-government organization (NGO) sector can bring great results in the fight against trafficking,” added
Carmela Andal Castro, director of local office of the International Justice Mission (IJM), a U.S.-based organization that has been helping since 2001 in efforts combating the trafficking of women and children in the Philippines.

Paranaque public prosecutor Lamberto Fabros got help from IJM’s lawyer Liwliwa Agbayani, who provided free counsel to the victims. Social workers also provided assistance and support to the children. –Carmela Fonbuena, ABS-CBNNews.com/Newsbreak