No to Trafficking

by Renzo Acosta, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 23 Jan 2021 (First of two parts) (Note: Names of sex workers interviewed for this article are pseudonyms or internet personae.) MANILA, Philippines — Delilah, 23 years old, has been doing sex work since she was 18. “There was a time when I was so ashamed to label myself…

by Zandro Ochona, ABS-CBN News, 20 Jan 2021 MANILA — The number of recorded online sexual exploitation cases among children in the Philippines continues to rise despite the pandemic, and one of its youngest victims was a barely-month-old baby, the country’s inter-agency council against trafficking revealed on Wednesday.

by Robie de Guzman, untvweb, 18 Jan 2021 MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday reported that close to 12,000 Filipino travelers were barred from leaving the country last year amid the bureau’s continued drive against illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

(by Philstar.com), 18 Jan 2021 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration stopped more than 11,700 Filipino passengers from leaving the country in 2020.

MANILA – Citing reports of students holding a “Christmas sale” of sensual photos and videos to raise funds for distance learning-related expenses, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Cybercrime and the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group to intensify their probe and crackdown on these activities.

by Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 Dec 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has placed its employees in the different ports of entry on heightened alert as it warned the public to be vigilant against human smuggling and human trafficking syndicates that might take advantage of the holiday rush despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Emmanuel Tupas (The Philippine Star), 25 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — A court in Taguig City has sentenced a woman to serve up to 40 years in prison for the online sexual exploitation of her relatives.

By: DJ Yap, Marlon Ramos, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 22 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — After exposing a multibillion-peso scam involving immigration officers taking bribes from Chinese nationals arriving at the airport, the Senate panel headed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros will investigate reports of human trafficking as a third “revenue stream” of corruption in the Bureau…

by Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star), 11 Oct 2020 MANILA, Philippines — A Malaysian court has convicted the former employers of a Filipino for violation of the country’s anti-trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants law, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.

By Eimor Santos, CNN Philippines, 10 Oct 2020 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 10) — The Malaysian employers of a Filipina human trafficking victim have been convicted in court in their homeland, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs has announced.

Read more here.

by Gerry Lee Gorit (The Philippine Star), 26 Sep 2020 CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY , Philippines — An Australian and a Filipino alleged to be involved in online child sexual exploitation were arrested in Barangay Canitoan in this city on Thursday.

by Emmanuel Tupas (The Philippine Star), 26 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Four minors believed to be victims of online sexual exploitation were rescued in Taguig City on Thursday.

by Robertzon Ramirez, Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star), 25 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — Government agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport ( NAIA) intercepted recently seven Filipinas bound for the United Arab Emirates after they allegedly presented fake working permits.

(Philstar.com), 11 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights on Friday backed a Senate bill seeking to intensify the government’s efforts to crackdown on human trafficking.

by Robertzon Ramirez, Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) – 9 Sep 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently stopped two Filipinas from leaving for the United Arab Emirates after they presented fake documents, an official said yesterday.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

by Robertzon Ramirez (The Philippine Star), 15 Aug 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld its previous ruling allowing Mary Jane Veloso, the overseas Filipino worker on death row in Indonesia, to testify against her alleged illegal recruiters.

Read more here.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Monday its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) recently barred three suspect victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment from leaving the country.

by Niko Baua, ABS-CBN News, 5 Aug 2020 MAYNILA — Nagbabala ang National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) sa malawakang recruitment umano ng mga aplikante sa mga dating app.

by Robie de Guzman, UNTV, 3 Aug 2020 MANILA, Philippines – Three people suspected of being victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment have been intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Monday.

by Evelyn Macairan, Rainier Allan Ronda, Robertzon Ramirez (The Philippine Star), 31 Jul 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has maintained its Tier 1 ranking in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons report of the US State Department for the fifth year in a row, according to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente yesterday, highlighting the country’s efforts…

Read more here.

by Czarina Nicole Ong Ki, Manila Bulletin, 30 Jul 2020 The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is urging the government to beef up its efforts against human trafficking particularly at this time with many Filipinos driven to desperation succumbing to the same.

By: Cathrine Gonzales, INQINQUIRER.net, 30 Jul 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The country has achieved a “good number” of convictions for human trafficking cases for the first half of 2020, even with the community quarantine imposed since the middle of March amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the government’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).

by Jeffrey Damicog, Manila Bulletin, 29 Jul 2020 The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) has launched a digital management system that allows the tracking of cases involving overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and coordinated action among government agencies.