Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published
reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Philippines.htm
The Philippines is a
source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A significant
number of Filipino men and women who migrate abroad for work are subjected to
conditions of involuntary servitude in Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Cote
d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Palau, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab
Emirates. Muslim Filipina girls from Mindanao were trafficked
to the Middle East by other Muslims.
- U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons
Report, June, 2009 Check out a later country report here and possibly a, full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in the
Philippines. Some of these links may
lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even
false. No attempt has been made to
validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking for
material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of particular
interest to you. Would you like to
write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Trafficking Of
Women And Children Judge Nimfa Cuesta
Vilches, ExpertLaw Library, January, 2004 www.ebgan.org/html/docs/TraffickedFilipinoWomenAndChildren.pdf [accessed 12
February 2018] A girl child in the
Philippines is discriminated upon early in life due to culture-based and
family reinforced gender biases. For instance, despite her special
nutritional needs in preparation as future mother and nurturer, the girl
child is allotted less food than her father and her brothers. When money for
education is scarce, her brothers are given the preference. The Filipino girl
child takes the stereotyped role of her mother who is portrayed as an abused
and submissive woman relegated to domestic work. Moreover, the public
considers girls and women as sex objects and typifies them as club/bar entertainers,
beauty pageant contestants, and racy or pornographic film stars. The pejorative
expectations that Filipino society has on women and children are compounded
by problems of extreme poverty; massive labor export; globalization; porous
borders; aggressive tourism campaigns; negative portrayal of women by mass
media; pornography on-line and internet chat-rooms; the practice of
mail-order brides; inter-country adoption; and joint military exercises in
the country with visiting forces from abroad. These factors cause women to
become easy victims of sex-trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation
either in the Philippines or in countries of destination. NBI raises alarm on
child-organ trafficking ABS-CBN News Online,
24 Aug 2008 unionssaynotochildlabor.com/nbi-raises-alarm-on-child-organ-trafficking/ [accessed 16
December 2010] news.abs-cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/08/24/08/nbi-raises-alarm-child-organ-trafficking [accessed 12
February 2018] The National Bureau
of Investigation alerted the public on Sunday over the rampant smuggling of
human organs in the Philippines. The NBI said smugglers are now targeting
childen who are kidnapped and taken abroad where their organs are sold to
foreign nationals. The human
smugglers, whose usual buyers are Middle Eastern nationals, allegedly abduct
children and house them somewhere in Mindanao. Lawyer Ferdinand Lavin of the NBI's Human
Trafficking Division said the victims are provided with vitamin supplements
to keep their internal organs healthy. He said the victims will then be
transported outside the country to undergo surgery for organ transplants. ***
ARCHIVES *** 3 people charged
with leading a cultlike church that imported
teenagers from the Philippines Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, 16 February 2020 www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/feb/16/kingdom-of-jesus-christ-church-operated-human-traf/ [accessed 17 Feb
2020] To immigration
officials they were tourists. To the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church, they
were “full-time workers,” ready to be sent out onto the streets to beg for
money to keep church leaders living in luxury. That’s the picture
painted by investigators in a stunning new immigration prosecution out of
California, where three people have been charged with leading a cultlike church that imported teenagers from the
Philippines, lied to immigration authorities about
why they were coming, then forced them into labor begging on the streets. Those that did well
were forced into sham marriages to keep them in the U.S., while those that
failed to meet begging quotas were beaten and starved, escaped church members
told investigators. Women were pressed into “night duty” — forced to have sex
with church leaders. CHR probes human
trafficking in Pangasinan Consuelo Marquez,
INQUIRER.net, Manila, 7 July 2019 newsinfo.inquirer.net/1138655/chr-probes-human-trafficking-in-pangasinan [accessed 8 July
2019] In a statement, CHR
spokesperson Jacquline de Guia
said 34 Lumads escaped from Sual,
Pangasinan, where they were forced to work at a
fish pen for 15 hours a day without pay. The CHR in
coordination with police in Sual Municipal Police
Station and the Social Welfare and Development Office of Pangasinan
rescued another 17 Lumads, who were recruited to
work in the Pangasinan-based fish pen. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Philippines U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/philippines/
[accessed 21 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Reports of forced
labor by adults and children continued, mainly in fishing and other maritime
industries, small-scale factories, gold mines, domestic service, agriculture,
and other areas of the informal sector (see section 7.c.). According to NGOs
and survivors, unscrupulous employers subjected women from rural communities
and impoverished urban centers to domestic service, forced begging, and
forced labor in small factories. They also subjected men to forced labor and
debt bondage in agriculture, including on sugar cane plantations and in
fishing and other maritime industries. Trade unions reported that continued
poor compliance with the law was due in part to the government’s lack of
capacity to inspect labor practices in the informal economy. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Despite these
efforts, child labor remained a widespread problem. Previous cases reported
to the Labor Department focused on domestic services and agricultural
sectors, notably in the fishing, palm oil, and sugar cane industries. Most
child labor occurred in the informal economy, often in family settings. Child
workers in those sectors and in activities such as gold mining, manufacturing
(including of fireworks), domestic service, drug trafficking, and garbage
scavenging faced exposure to hazardous working environments. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/philippines/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 5 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? The Philippines is
a source country for human trafficking, with some Filipinos taken abroad and
forced to work in the fishing, shipping, construction, or other industries,
or forced to engage in sex work. The country’s various insurgent groups have
been accused of using child soldiers. The legal minimum
wage in the agricultural sector in some regions falls far short of what is
necessary for a family to avoid poverty. Violation of minimum wage standards
is fairly common. Children have been reported working as domestic laborers.
There is a shortage of labor inspectors; authorities have acknowledged the
problem but say they have limited funds to address it. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 22 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 5 May
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 821] Children, primarily
girls, are trafficked domestically from rural communities to urban centers
and tourist destinations for the purpose of domestic work and commercial
sexual exploitation. (57; 34) Research indicates that the Philippines is the
top global internet source of commercial sexual exploitation of children,
where children are coerced into performing sex acts for live internet
broadcast to paying foreigners and local Filipinos, which usually take place
in small internet cafes, private homes, or windowless dungeon-like buildings
commonly known as “cybersex dens.” (58; 59; 60; 61; 62; 34) Child soldiering
also remains a concern among non-government militias and terrorist
organizations, predominately in the southern island of Mindanao. (8) In Marawi City, many children as young as age 7 were
recruited, paid, and trained as fighters by the Maute
Group, a terrorist organization linked to ISIS. Reports indicate that these
children aided the Maute Group, including as
fighters, during the Marawi City crisis in 2017,
when ISIS-affiliated terrorists took over the city and captured civilian
hostages, resulting in a battle with government forces for the city’s
control. (36; 63; 37; 64) In addition, research suggests that the Abu Sayyaf
Group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the
Moro National Liberation Front, and the New People’s Army continue to recruit
children in schools for use as human shields, cooks, and fighters. (6; 65;
66). Deliverance Art Jahnke,
Bostonia, Winter-Spring 2015 www.bu.edu/today/2015/deliverance/ [accessed 11 May
2015] www.bu.edu/bostonia/winter-spring15/deliverance/ [accessed 15 June
2017] Why did the FBI find
so many victims of human trafficking in one heartland city? Because that’s
where they looked for them. Cynthia Cordes led the search. The moment the
agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement pulled into the parking lot,
Filipinos on the hotel’s housekeeping staff began to imagine the worst. They
would be handcuffed. They would be questioned for hours. Their papers would
be found to be out of order. Ultimately, they would be deported and would
return home, where they would explain about the costs of visas and housing
and transportation, about the paychecks that after all the deductions barely
covered expenses. They would admit that they could never repay their uncles
and cousins who had given much of their savings to send them to the United
States. That’s how their
journey would end, they feared, with the entire village seeing the folly of
their journey, the futility of their dreams. Child Protection in
the Philippines: A Situation Analysis Jay Yacat, University of the Philippines, 2011 [Long URL] [accessed 14
February 2022] Enticed by the lure
of employment in Metro Manila or abroad and pushed by grinding poverty in
Mindanao, these victims are coerced or deceived into a variety of
exploitative situations in the Philippines or abroad: bonded labour, prostitution or abusive domestic work. Others are
exploited for illegal activities (like begging, illegal trade or adoption),
organ trading, marital services or for armed conflict.
The study also cites a DSWD report that from 1997 to 2002, there was an
estimated 95 documented cases of child trafficking mostly from Region
IX (Zamboanga Peninsula).In many cases, the victims are female and minors, as
the rescue exemplified. The girl later told BSSD personnel she had been
recruited to work for P9,000 a month as a waitress
during the day and a karaoke attendant at night in a restaurant somewhere in
Luzon. Witnesses said the girl had four other companions who managed to make
the voyage to Manila. Why the Philippines
is still in US trafficking Tier 2 Watch List (for 2 years in a row)! International Labour
Organization, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 4 Nov 2010 trafficking.org.ph/v5/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3496&Itemid=56 [accessed 18
December 2010] [accessed 12
February 2018] IF IT’S TOO GOOD TO
BE TRUE
- The five women related that they left farming activities in Mindanao in
September 2010 hopeful of promised high paying domestic jobs in the Middle
East and a good life for them and their families. However, they found
themselves in a South Manila house, cramped with 30 other women, mostly
Muslim, from Mindanao, similarly wondering what have become of those promises.
The women were told
that their working visas were already in Manila, even though they have not
submitted documents or undergone medical examinations. They had borrowed
money to pay for their transportation expenses. These women stayed
in the recruiter’s house. Their passports had been confiscated; they were
told that they were endorsed to prospective recruitment agencies for possible
deployment abroad. After a month without any development, they no longer
believed the recruiter. Everyday, these
women had only one pandesal for breakfast and nothing for lunch and dinner.
That was why they ventured out to ask food from neighbors, and met Mrs. Reyes
in the process. One of the recruits
told the recruiter that she was pregnant, asked to be released, reimbursed of
her transportation expenses, and for her passport. The recruiter gave her
Cytotec instead, and asked P31, 000 in exchange for her freedom. IACAT and IJM
elated over latest conviction of human trafficker Philippines News
Agency PNA, Manila, Nov. 28 archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p081128.htm&no=18 [accessed 19 August
2014] archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&rp=2&fi=p081128.htm&no=18&date= [accessed 12
February 2018] The four (4)
accused were convicted for victimizing minor girls, with ages ranging from
14-16 years old. The victims had been sexually exploited and were made to
work as prostitutes by the accused. One of the four complainants was promised
the job of a cashier, while the other three were told they will work as group
dancers. Instead, they all ended up as GROs in a videoke club and were forced
to engage in acts of prostitution. They also were not brought to Laguna as
agreed, but instead to Daraga, Albay. The victims were never allowed to leave
the videoke club, until they were rescued by the NBI Anti-Human Trafficking
Division. -
htcp Human Trafficking
Cases Increased Sun Star, March 20,
2008 – Source:
www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2008/01/08/news/human.trafficking.cases.increased.html traffickingproject.blogspot.com/2008/03/trafficking-challenges-in-philippines.html [accessed 19 January
2011] Sheila, Valerie and
Bridget (not their real names), who hailed from poor families here, have set
their sights to as far as Manila, Brunei, and Japan for employment to
alleviate the plight of their respective families. However, instead of
working as domestic helpers, they ended up as prostitutes. Their recruiters
vanished like thin smokes in the air. "They have been promised heaven,
but hell greeted them." Rebecca Magante, secretariat head of the Local
Inter-Agency Task Force Against Trafficking in Person (Liatfat), stressed how
the three became victims of human trafficking. The trio’s cases were among
the 11 filed in the courts of General Santos since the task force was created
in 2005. Filipino children
sell kidneys to help parents Barbara Mae Dacanay,
Bureau Chief, Gulf News, June 23, 2009 gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/filipino-children-sell-kidneys-to-help-parents-1.29276 [accessed 16
December 2010] RELATED :: www.abc.net.au/news/2008-04-18/desperately-poor-filipinos-sell-kidneys/2409350 [accessed 5 May
2020] Some 250 Filipinos,
two of them below 18, have sold one of their kidneys to recruiters who supply
them to patients who need transplants, a local paper has said. "Someone recruited them and they were
paid 112,000 pesos (Dh8,493) each for their kidneys," Abueva said,
adding that forcing or persuading Filipino children to sell their kidneys is
the newest form of child exploitation in the country today. Syndicates are now using online marketing,
through the internet, where they offer organs to prospective foreign and
local buyers, said Dr Benita Padilla of the National Kidney and Transplant
Institute. Cagayan de Oro,
Bukidnon Top Trafficking Cases Annabelle L.
Ricalde, The Sun.Star, July 29, 2008 traffickingproject.blogspot.com/2008/07/philippines-cagayan-de-oro-bukidnon-top.html [accessed 16
December 2010] Cases of human
trafficking this year are high in Bukidnon province and Cagayan de Oro
compared to other places in Northern Mindanao, said the Commission on
Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Task Force Against Human Trafficking. She said women are
more preferred by human traffickers because of "the availability of the
labor force for women." The
"jobs" offered for women often include forced prostitution, while
others land into forced labor, slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs,
she added. Ex-diplomat
implicated in human trafficking Gilbert Felongco,
Gulf News, July 10, 2008 gulfnews.com/news/world/philippines/ex-diplomat-implicated-in-human-trafficking-1.117449 [accessed 16
December 2010] www.pressreader.com/uae/gulf-news/20080710/282071977668693 [accessed 21 February
2019] PRIVILEGE ABUSE - Under labour
rules, Filipino diplomats can recruit personnel from the Philippines to serve
in their own household. In the civil
case she filed against the Bajas and their travel agency, Baoanan, a
registered nurse, said she had paid P250,000 to her recruiters so that she
could enter the US legally. While
serving as maid to the family that facilitated her entry to the US, she said
she was to serve them 16 hours a day and was paid only $100 for three months
of work. Human trafficking
victim now an entrepreneur Tonette Orejas,
Central Luzon Desk, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Angeles City, June 17, 2008 www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/thegoodnews/view.php?db=1&article=20080617-143091 [accessed 16
December 2010] ESCAPING A BAD MARRIAGE - “We washed
clothes, cleaned the house. We were not given breakfast. [We were fed] noodle
soup cooked in a bucket of water with some eggs. The rice was either spoiled
or smelled bad. We were not allowed to talk to each other and we were
prohibited from calling our relatives,” Pacheco said of the ordeal. The women came from her village in Sapang
Bato in Angeles City or from various parts of Mindanao, all hoping to get
jobs in the Middle East, she said. For
her part, Pacheco thought she could escape a bad marriage by working abroad. Trafficking of
Filipinas in Singapore 'unabated'--embassy Veronica Uy,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila, 04/28/2008 www.humantrafficking.org/updates/772 [accessed 6 February
2016] In November 2007,
INQUIRER.net posted a special report on the growing number of young Filipino
women being lured to Singapore on the false promise of a high-paying job only
to end up in prostitution. The
increased incidence of trafficking of Asian women, including Filipinas, to
Singapore prompted the United States State Department to downgrade the
city-state's rating from Tier 1 in 2006 to Tier 2 this year. Philippine
Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anota said Filipinas who want to work
overseas must scrutinize their recruiters in the Philippines well and ensure
they have valid contracts before leaving the country. She also advised jobseekers to have their
contracts duly verified by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA) "before packing their bags for Singapore." Trafficking of
Filipinos in Singapore ‘all-time high’ Veronica Uy, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila, 02/04/2008 globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20080204-116650/Trafficking-of-Filipinos-in-Singapore-all-time-high--DFA [accessed 16
December 2010] The modus operandi
essentially has illegal recruiters promise young women non-existent jobs as
waitresses or guest relations officers in restaurants and hotels in
Singapore. They are each charged a
minimal S$100 to S$1,000 as recruitment fee in the Philippines, and given
roundtrip tickets (sometimes the return ticket is fake), a fake invitation
letter, and “show money” for showing to Philippine immigration officials who
scrutinize their financial capacity as tourists. Expecting to work in legitimate jobs,
Filipinas end up working as prostitutes. They are forced to provide sexual
services to customers and earn commissions from alcoholic drinks to enable
them to pay the $1,000 to S$4,000 they allegedly owe their handlers. The report said victims who fled to the
embassy were provided shelter and assisted in their repatriation back to the
Philippines. They are interviewed, their affidavit taken, and are advised to
file a complaint either in Singapore or in the Philippines. DOJ chief, kidney
recipient, wants organ trafficking outlawed GMA News TV -
04/14/2008 www.gmanews.tv/story/89367/DOJ-chief-kidney-recipient-wants-organ-trafficking-outlawed [accessed 16
December 2010] [accessed 12 February
2018] The issue got the
attention of media, who reported that it was becoming more common for poor
people and prisoners to sell their kidneys and other organs for paltry sums
to syndicates catering mostly to foreign clients. Human Trafficking
in the Philippines: Victims’ Kin Part of Problem — and Solution Bong S. Sarmiento,
Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project, GENERAL SANTOS CITY, 7 MARCH 2008 www.pinoypress.net/2008/03/07/human-trafficking-in-the-philippines-victims%E2%80%99-kin-part-of-problem-and-solution/ [accessed 16
December 2010] www.traffickingproject.org/2008/05/human-trafficking-in-philippines.html [accessed 26
September 2016] Dubbed “Tuna
Capital of the Philippines,” General Santos City in southern Mindanao is
considered a trafficking “hotspot” because of the proliferation of bars and
transit houses, according to the Visayan Forum Foundation, a non-government
organization that works to monitor and curb the crime. The city with its
large seaport is a traditional crossing point to nearby Brunei, Indonesia and
Malaysia. But on top of its
strategic location, human trafficking thrives in this city because of
effective parental consent, according to Rebecca Magante, chief of the local
social welfare and development office and secretariat head of LIATFAT. “The sad fact is that parents egg their
children on when they are approached by these people in the hope they will
send back money to the family,” she says. Organ trafficking:
a fast-expanding black market IHS Jane's, 05 March
2008 www.traffickingproject.org/2008/03/organ-trafficking-fast-expanding-black.html [accessed 26 June
2013] China, India,
Pakistan, Egypt, Brazil, the
Philippines, Moldova, and Romania are among the world's leading providers
of trafficked organs. If China is known for harvesting and selling organs
from executed prisoners, the other countries have been dealing essentially
with living donors, becoming stakeholders in the fast-growing human
trafficking web. Solon seeks action
vs human trafficking in Visayas GMA News TV -
December 24, 2007 www.gmanews.tv/story/74023/Solon-appeals-for-action-vs-human-trafficking-in-Visayas [accessed 16
December 2010] In a statement, An
Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem" Noel said hundreds of Eastern Visayan women
and young children are going to spend their Christmas inside brothels and
sweatshops in Metro Manila as the trade of human trafficking continues
unabated. “For these young
Warays, Christmas means spending the holidays inside a dark room with a
complete paying stranger or working to death inside factories not fit for
humans," Noel said. “With the grinding
poverty, the cases are bound to increase every year and the solution is the
combined vigilance of Eastern Visayas provincial and local leaders, law
enforcement agencies and the national government through the DSWD," Noel
said. “As the end of
school season draws near, students from poor families are lured with summer
jobs in Metro Manila. The offer is usually tempting for families that cannot
afford send their children in the next school season," he said. He said the victims
are usually recruited as househelp or workers in seedy factories only to end
up working without pay in sex brothels and sweatshops. DSWD bats for
comprehensive program to hasten rehab of human trafficking victims Renee F. De Guzman,
Philippine Information Agency PIA, San Fernando City, La Union, 6 December
2007 archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&fi=p071206.htm&no=10 [accessed 16
December 2010] archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p071206.htm&no=10 [accessed 12
February 2018] Mrs. Sampang
emphasized to the victim-survivors during the dialogue, not to blame
themselves as they are just victims of ignorance and lack of awareness of the
modus operandi of illegal recruiters.
"Your cases should serve as eye opener to other youth and
individuals not to become the next victim of human trafficking", she
added. On the other hand, Director
Finardo Cabilao of DSWD Central Office noted in his message the increasing incidence
in the country of human trafficking or commoditizing human beings, including
such activities as selling of body organs, mail order brides, hard labor and
prostitution which are becoming customary in nature. Human trafficking
cases in E. Visayas ‘alarming’ Joey A. Gabieta,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Tacloban City, 12/05/2007 newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20071205-105096/Human_trafficking_cases_in_E._Visayas_%91alarming%92 [accessed 17
December 2010] Eastern Visayas
continues to be a source of women and children being sent to Metro Manila
brothels and sweatshops, and the number of trafficking cases is alarming,
according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the
region. DSWD officials said the number
of human trafficking cases was increasing despite efforts to stop them. She said the
victims were mostly children and women who were recruited by trafficking
gangs. The victims end up working without pay in brothels and sweatshops in
Metro Manila, she said. ‘Sex slaves’ sue
for human trafficking Vice President Noli
"Kabayan" De Castro, Press Release, November 23, 2007 trafficking.org.ph/v5/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1890&Itemid=56 [accessed 19 August
2014] The complainants
alleged that they were recruited by an unnamed Filipina recruiter who has
connections with a Malaysian immigration officer and offered them jobs as
waitresses and were deployed abroad without going through the POEA for
document processing. But against their
will, they were allegedly made sex slaves and were not allowed to go out of
the building where they are housed. There are still more than 40 other
Filipinas in the sex den and more are being recruited, they said. Halfway houses at
ports protect sex trade victims Gerald Gene R.
Querubin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Batangas City, 11/22/2007 www.traffickingproject.org/2008/03/halfway-houses-at-ports-protect.html [accessed 6 February
2016] A female recruiter,
who promised Ana a job as a storekeeper in Cavite, flew her from her home
province of Bukidnon to Manila in January 2006. From there, she was brought
to Cavite and forced to work as a guest relations officer (GRO) in a bar and,
eventually, as a prostitute. With
three other girls—all minors—Ana was made to work from 4 p.m. till past
midnight. If the girls refused to cooperate, “Steve,” a nephew of the bar
owner, would beat them or douse them with water. - htcp 161 rescued from
human traffickers -- BI Jerome Aning,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila, September 3, 2007 globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20070903-86407/161_rescued_from_human_traffickers_--_BI [accessed 17
December 2010] Libanan said the
human trafficking victims were rescued when they were barred from leaving the
country for being "tourist workers," or undocumented overseas
Filipino workers disguised as tourists.
He said the bulk of the offloaded tourist workers were bound for the
Middle East and other destinations such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Libanan informed Arroyo that the BI
strictly implemented her directive for the agency to take the lead in
stopping the escort racket to safeguard and protect the interest of overseas
Filipino workers. 25 Pct. Of Global
Human Trafficking Victims Are Filipinos www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008286912 [access date
unavailable] The International
Justice Mission on Thursday said that 25 percent of global human trafficking
involves Filipinos, meaning that for every four humans trafficked across the
globe, one of them is a Filipino. Dealing with human
trafficking Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Manila, 08/19/2007 opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20070819-83423/Dealing_with_human_trafficking [accessed 17
December 2010] Leaving home to
work elsewhere is a dream many Filipinos nurture. It is their answer to
poverty and joblessness. Yet, there have been too many stories of migrants
heading for faraway places, only to find themselves in the worst kinds of
employment: as prostitutes or slaves, doing bonded labor for which they are
sometimes not paid at all. The victims of
domestic trafficking are mostly young men and women from the remote areas in
the Visayas and Mindanao. Their destination: Metro Manila. Most of them end
up as prostitutes, domestic helpers or factory workers, and discover that
life in the big city can be a nightmare. A dirty secret in
the Philippines: slave brokers Jason Gutierrez,
Agence France-Presse AFP, Manila, Jul 20, 2007 www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2007/07/20/2003370457 [accessed 17
December 2010] A distant relative
had duped Quezo's father into allowing her to travel with him to Manila when
she was barely 12, supposedly for a leisure trip. That hot summer day was the
last time she saw her family in impoverished Muslim Mindanao. The relative turned out to be a broker for
a human trafficking syndicate, but decided to keep Quezo as his personal
slave. For three years, the young girl worked for him as a cook, nanny and
maid -- and was not paid a cent. Then one day, her
captor forgot to lock the gates and Quezo escaped, only to end up lost in the
dank alleys of Manila's slums, working odd jobs that paid enough to buy food and
the clothes on her back. Quezo is now
rebuilding her life, learning livelihood skills that should help her
reintegrate into society. She remains hesitant about going home, fearful of
her parents' reaction. Human traffickers
rarely punished Sun Star, Jul 17,
2007 gmanews.tv/story/51343/SunStar-Human-traffickers-rarely-punished [accessed 17
December 2010] Statistics from the
Department of Justice (DOJ) showed that since 2003, 248 cases of human
trafficking have been filed, of which the highest number was filed in 2005
with 114 cases. Deanna Perez, Senior
State Prosecutor for DOJ and head of the Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Council
against Trafficking (IACAT), said the slow disposition of cases in the courts
contributes to the low number of convictions. A large number of the cases are
still in the process of initial investigation, she said. Aside from this, some victims have withdrawn
charges for fear of their lives or simply because they cannot endure the
emotional stress of a trial. Women comprise
75.1% of human trafficking victims in Region 8 last year Philippine
Information Agency PIA Press Release, March 6, 2007 archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070306.htm&no=17 [accessed 17
December 2010] archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&rp=2&fi=p070306.htm&no=17&date=03/06/2007 [accessed 12
February 2018] However, the victims
from Region 8 increased from 108 in 2005 to 132 in 2006 or a 22.2 percent
increase. What is most appalling is that more than half or 54.6% of the total
trafficked victims in the region in 2006 were children ranging from
13-17years old. Human trafficking -
Editorial The Philippine Star,
11 Feb 2007 [accessed 19 August
2014] The country can
play an even better role by intensifying the campaign against human
trafficking in its own backyard. Illegal recruiters continue to lure women
and even minors from impoverished communities nationwide to work overseas as
maids or entertainers. Many of the women end up as commercial sex workers or
find themselves unable to leave employers who abuse them physically and
sexually. Talent scout nabbed
for human trafficking [PDF] Jing Villamentefrom,
The Manila Standard, Feb 08, 2007 trafficking.org.ph/v5/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1456 [accessed 18
December 2010] A gay fashion show
manager sending Filipino women to China was arrested by agents of the
National Bureau of Investigation after victims complained that they ended up
as sex slaves in Macau. Lasala said Fajardo
brought them to nightclub where they had to work 20 hours a day providing sex
during their 23-day stay. The duped
recruits later learned that Fajardo had abandoned them, taking all their
earnings. Human traffickers
found opening up new route in Calbayog-Masbate Philippine
Information Agency PIA Press Release, Tacloban City, 2007/01/29 archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p070129.htm&no=20 [accessed 18
December 2010] In the end,
Director Corillo said that there is a need to educate the people especially
the young adults so that they will not become victims of human trafficking.
More often than not, the victims give consent to the human traffickers
because they are in dire need for work. Also, many times, the parents are the
ones who push their children by consenting that they go with the
perpetrators. It is the consensus
that poverty is the root cause of victims of human trafficking. Aside from
going after the human traffickers so that they will not be able to continue
their illegal activities, the solution really is helping the families to have
sufficient resources. Bacolod reports 16
cases of human trafficking Philippine
Information Agency PIA, Nov 21, 2006 archives.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&sec=reader&rp=3&fi=p061121.htm&no=22&date=11/21/2006 [accessed 12
February 2018] She disclosed that
one of the main problems they face in dealing with TIP victims is in the
reintegration of victims to their family and community where the lack of
social workers is critically felt.
Batapa is seeking for the accreditation of local Non-Government
Organizations that will fulfill the lack of manpower and competence to handle
the victims. The
path to recovery of Isabel and Irene Source:
www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=51822 www.preda.org/main/archives/2006/r06092701.html [accessed 24 April
2012] [scroll
down] The
flight schedule was pinned up on the wall. The pimps arrived and began to argue
with the police claiming that they had an understanding with the police
chief. But the police we had with us were from a different station. While
they were busy discussing the payoff, the Preda team went into the house with
the mother and found Isabel. They got her out into the van and sped away
before anyone could stop them. It was clear that there would be no
investigation and no arrests. If only we could have rescued all the girls it
would have been a great day’s work but unfortunately it was impossible. The
girls were teenagers and one of then had a baby. Covering
trafficking Rina Jimenez-David,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 09/22/2006 opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20060922-22549/Covering_trafficking [accessed 18
December 2010] Here are some
suggestions on how media coverage of trafficking could do better: First, get off this
obsession with “foreign” trafficking. While researching and writing the book
“Nightmare Journeys: Filipina Sojourns Through the World of Trafficking,” I
encountered stories of women who followed a route of domestic trafficking
before being trafficked abroad -- from their small towns to bigger cities,
then on to Manila, before they were shipped out of the country. Domestic
trafficking feeds global trafficking. Next, we could draw
attention to other aspects of the issue: structural problems in society that
render women and children vulnerable, issues of gender inequality and the
human rights of women and children, and the sense of male entitlement that
feeds the “demand” for a growing pool of trafficked women and children. If the media are to
cover trafficking as a “crime,” then they should make the effort to “follow
the story” to its real conclusion, and not stop at just the raid or rescue
and the arrest. Coverage from arraignment, trial and hopefully conviction,
would show both the limitations and potentials of new laws governing
trafficking. For instance, I have just found out that through the efforts of
a wide range of agencies, the government has been able to win convictions for
seven individuals on grounds of trafficking. VP De Castro, US
envoy seeking end to human trafficking Cynthia D. Balana,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 09/20/2006 newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20060920-22151/VP_De_Castro,_US_envoy_seeking_end_to_human_trafficking [accessed 18
December 2010] De Castro said
overseas Filipino victims are usually undocumented nationals who gain entry
into other countries using visitor’s visas and end up working in sex dens or
other establishments under debt slavery conditions. Some are legally
processed as overseas workers but are victimized through violations of their
original contracts, he added. Team ready vs human
trafficking Ferdinand Fabella,
Manila Standard Today, Sep 4, 2006 Source: www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=regions01_sept04_2006 [accessed 27 June
2013] Western Visayas,
particularly Negros Occidental, is one the regions in the Philippines with a
rising number of women and children being trafficked for work and sexual
exploitation. Aside from Western
Visayas, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Central and Eastern Visayas are also
considered to be hotspots, with 127 surveillance and 77 rescue operations
conducted recently, said the labor department. NGO gets
$179,000-US grant for human trafficking victims Nikko Dizon,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 06/27/2006 newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metroregions/view/20060627-6842/NGO_gets_$179,000-US_grant_for_human_trafficking_victims [accessed 18
December 2010] The United States government
has provided a grant of 179,000 dollars to help a Philippine non-governmental
organization expand its halfway house operations to help victims of human
trafficking, according to a statement by the US Embassy in Manila. IT skills training
enlisted in fight vs human trafficking Joey Alarilla,
INQ7.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 06/03/2006 technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20060603-3606/IT_skills_training_enlisted_in_fight_vs_human_trafficking [accessed 18
December 2010] Based on the
statistics provided by the Visayan Forum Foundation, most victims are between
12 to 22 years old. Since 2001, a total of 10, 523 victims and potential
victims of human trafficking in the Philippines have been served in the Port
Halfway Houses, which is a partnership program between the Visayan Forum
Foundation and the Philippine Ports Authority. The numbers may be even
higher, however, because of the difficulty in accurately tracking numbers in
all the country's regions. Hi-tech human
trafficking in RP getting worse Alexander
Villafania, INQ7.net, 2006-05-29 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] Human traffickers
in the Philippines have begun using the Internet in their operations,
according to an official of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking
(IACAT). IACAT chief
Severino Gaña, Jr. said at a press conference that many female victims end up
working for pornography websites where they perform sexual acts in front of
webcams for paying customers. Microsoft gives
P10M to fight human trafficking in RP Erwin Lemuel Oliva,
INQ7.net, 2006-05-29 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] MICROSOFT
Philippines will give 10 million pesos in cash and a software grant to a
non-profit organization enagaged in anti-human trafficking activities in the
Philippines, officials said. An
estimated 10,000 survivors and potential victims of human trafficking stand
to benefit from this two-year program. Speaking the truth
on prostitution Agence France-Presse
AFP, HONG KONG, Jan 12, 2006 www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/01/12/2003288614 [accessed 18
December 2010] HEADY DREAMS - Born in the
southern part of the main Philippines island of Luzon, Pascual was 16 when
she began working the bars, fresh out of high school and with heady dreams of
becoming a restaurateur. She asked her aunt
for help in getting her a job. The aunt sold her to a man who pimped her to a
massive nightclub of 3,000 girls in Olongapo in return for a cut of her first
four months of "wages." Palace vows
conviction of human traffickers Paolo Romero, Star,
Manila, November 11, 2005 www.philstar.com/headlines/306292/stung-us-criticisms-palace-vows-conviction-human-traffickers [accessed 28 June
2013] The Palace
spokesman issued his statement after United States embassy deputy chief of
mission Scott Bellard said Wednesday that, despite the Philippines’
anti-human trafficking law, no suspected traffickers had been prosecuted. Viewpoint : Big
bucks trade Juan Mercado, Cebu
Daily News, July 12, 2007 globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20070712-76265/Big_bucks_trade [accessed 28 August
2011] The Philippines was
the first country to adopt in 2003 an Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. And
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Teodoro Bay sentenced a couple to 160
years in prison for peddling “starlets” to moneyed sex trade clients. There
are seven convictions now. Overall the
Philippines has enough laws, says the Nevada University study. “The problem
is implementation.” In Cebu, a task
force operated ineptly. Police were untrained. Lawyers lacked understanding
of the new law. “The net effect seems to be punishment of the girls, not the
perpetrators.” “They sit there and
look, like this [Cebu] 'barangay' [neighborhood district] official,” the
Nevada University study quotes a nun helping girls trapped in the red light
district. “But he has his own bars. Many of the brothels there are owned by
policemen. ‘Oh, he is my customer,’ a girl will tell us. And now, he is the
one who imprisons me.” Court finds couple
guilty of human trafficking The Filipino
Express, Manila, Jan 15, 2006 www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-118113343.html [partially accessed
18 December 2010 - access restricted] THE Quezon City
Regional Trial Court sentenced a couple to 160 years in prison for peddling
starlets and would-be movie stars to moneyed sex trade clients. In a 25-page
decision, Judge Teodoro Bay imposed four life terms against Den Jerson Tongco
and his wife Alicia in a second case of conviction against human traffickers
in the Philippines. The Tongcos were
also found guilty of illegally recruiting men and women, whom the couple
promised of jobs in the local entertainment industry, only to end up selling
sex to foreigners, businessmen and moneyed professionals. DFA says 6 more
convicted under anti-trafficking law [access information
unavailable] The Department of Foreign
Affairs has monitored six more convictions for violation of the
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, increasing to seven the total number of
convictions since the law was passed in 2003. Sex worker joins
campaign vs prostitution Asian Sex Gazette,
October 18, 2005 news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20051016&id=vqU1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=YSUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2342,747430 [accessed 19 August 2014] She was sexually
assaulted by a relative. She filed charges against her attacker, but without
witnesses, the case did not prosper.
Wanting to escape from her past, she went with a recruiter who
promised her a job that paid P1,000 a day as a saleslady in Olongapo
City. During the
"interview," she was drugged and taken to a nightclub. The prevalence of
human trafficking Wenna A. Berondo,
The Freeman, Jul 03, 2005 www.philstar.com/cebu-news/284771/prevalence-human-trafficking [accessed 28 June
2013] According to him,
Cebu is among the top five areas in the country where child prostitution and
sex tourism are prevalent because it is the destination of international and domestic
trafficking of kids ages 11 to 17 from nearby provinces of Samar, Leyte,
Bohol, and Negros. Illicit
cross-border trade is the ugly face of globalization Flerida Ruth P.
Romero, Philippine Daily Inquirer News Service, page A16 of the May 22, 2005
issue news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20050522&id=SlY1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=ciUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1931,41748020 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly also be accessible [here] [accessed 20 August
2014] CONSUMABLE IMPORTS - Unfortunately,
in the Philippines, there is a dearth of baseline data on the true state of
human trafficking. According to Jean Enriquez, the reasons are, among others,
"the underground nature of trafficking; the stigma placed on victims of
sexual exploitation; the lack of a name for the problem at the community
level and awareness of acts of trafficking as violations of human rights,
thus, the low rate of reporting; and the same lack of awareness among many
government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), thus, the few
interventions and documentation of cases." UNICEF raps
child-trafficking in RP Edson C. Tandoc Jr.,
Philippine Daily Inquirer News Service, page A2 of the May 16, 2005 issue At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 10
September 2011] If not being forced
into prostitution, children are made to pose nude for pornographic materials or
Web sites. "Parents think that by
taking photographs of their children naked, they are not harming them. But
they are taking away their childhood," Davis said. He said child trafficking was one of the
three biggest problems affecting Filipino children, the others being
malnutrition and lack of education.
Child trafficking in the Philippines is as bad as in Thailand and
Cambodia, he said. NBI Busts
Mail-Order Bride Syndicate Star, Manila,
January 18, 2005 article.wn.com/view/2005/01/18/NBI_busts_mailorder_bride_syndicate/ [accessed 20 August
2014] In his report to
Wycoco, NBI Anti-Human Trafficking Division (AHTRAD) chief Romulo Asis said
the group’s modus operandi was to entice Filipino women to apply for
match-marriages with male Koreans.
Asis said Korean clients would come to the Philippines and choose a
wife to take to Korea. However, two months after the arranged marriage, the
husband abandons the wife and looks for another Filipina to marry. Human Traffickers - Japan Is Limiting The Entry
Of All Foreign Entertainers Star, Manila,
February 28, 2005 www.libertadlatina.org/Asia_Japanese_Govt_Ends_Legal_Entry_of_Foreign_Sex_Workers_02-27-2005.htm [accessed 28 June
2013] www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2004/12/07/issues/costly-crackdown/#.XG7v5bhrxko [accessed 21
February 2019] Tokyo wants to clamp down on Japanese crime rings, or yakuza, that bring women into that country from Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America for prostitution and forced labor. Manila should welcome this move and focus on the opening of the Japanese market for foreign nurses and caregivers. Sex Trafficking
Growing In S.E.Asia Fayen Wong, Reuters,
Singapore, April 26, 2005 www.chinapost.com.tw/international/detail.asp?GRP=D&id=61645 [accessed 1
September 2011] singabloodypore.wordpress.com/2005/04/26/sex-trafficking-growing-in-seasia/ [accessed 12
February 2018] Girls from the villages of Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines are lured into cities or neighboring countries with promises of lucrative jobs as waitresses and domestic helpers, only to end up in massage parlors and karaoke bars. Others are flown as far as Australia, Japan, South Africa and the United States to be kept as slaves in brothels -- beaten, drugged, starved or raped in the first days of their reclusion to intimidate and prepare them for clients, the experts say. Wising Up On Sexual
Trafficking Of Women And Children [DOC] Delia Jurado, The
Freeman, February 16, 2005 Source:
www.thefreeman.com/opinion/index.php?fullstory=1&issue=articles_20050216&id=27693 www.twnside.org.sg/title2/ttcd/SO-10.doc [accessed 18
December 2010] [accessed 12
February 2018] [scroll down] The dark side,
unfortunately, is that Cebu is considered as one of the top five areas for child
prostitution and sex tourism. Cebu City has become the destination point of
internal and domestic trafficking of children as young as 11 to 17 years old
coming from Samar, Bohol, Leyte, Negros and Bacolod. Philippines is 4th
in trafficking of children Mars W. Mosqueda
Jr., Cebu city, 12 February 2005 -- Source:
www.mb.com.ph/PROV2005021128464.html archive.today/Cgy0n At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly also be accessible [here] [accessed 10
September 2011] The Philippines
ranked fourth among nine nations with the most number of children trafficked
for prostitution, the Consortium Against Trafficking of Children and Women
for Sexual Exploitation (Catch-Wise) reported. In the Visayas,
Cebu has been the destination of international and domestic trafficking of
children, aged from 11 to 17, who are from Samar, Bohol, Leyte, Negros and
Bacolod. Cebu is now considered one of
the top five areas for child prostitution and sex tourism. Rapid Assessment:
Human Smuggling and Trafficking from the Philippines [PDF] United Nations
Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute UNICRI and Australian
Institute of Criminology, November 1999 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] Part I: The Problem
-- The Philippine Situation -- Trafficking in Women -- Two Studies on
‘Trafficking’ [page 22] PILOT PROJECT
AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN - The Pilot Project includes case studies of women who
have migrated for employment or marriage, either to Iran, Belgium, Kuwait.
These case studies provide details of each of these women’s circumstances
prior to, during and after migration, including how they travelled, their
expectations and their actual experiences. Three of these case studies can be
considered as case studies of victims of trafficking. ECPAT Philippines
Launches the Anti-Child Trafficking Campaign in the Philippines Medge Olivarez, ECPAT
Philippines, February 2004 archive.today/K7yI1 [accessed 2
September 2012] THE CHILD
TRAFFICKING PHENOMENA
- Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are sold and enslaved. No
official figures are available but many separate studies and assessments have
been made: Fifty-four percent of trafficked children in the Philippines are
15-17 years old and in 1999 there were 85 child trafficking victims
documented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Philippines
Government Launches a National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Human
Beings UN Information
Service, UNIS/CP/398, VIENNA, 30 October 2001 www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2001/cp398.html [accessed 12
February 2018] Main features of the
National Action Plan include: Early ratification
of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol
against Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; New legislation: a special
bill against trafficking in human beings and preparation of a compilation of
relevant existing legislation; Strengthened
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases through setting up
specialized databases, strengthening of law enforcement units and improved
police-prosecutor cooperation; Training for law
enforcers, prosecutors, social workers and frontline officers as well as
staff of embassies and consulates; Support for victims
and the protection of witnesses in cases of trafficking in human beings; A comprehensive
public awareness campaign on the subject; Continued
inter-agency coordination; Strengthened
international cooperation, including forging bilateral and multilateral
agreements; and Intensified
cooperation with the United Nations, including the Centre for International
Crime Prevention, as well as other UN entities and Intergovernmental
Organizations active in the fight against trafficking in human beings. The Human Rights of
Migrant Workers - A Summary Report on the Human
Trafficking Elements of the Findings and Recommendations of the Special
Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants Franciscans
International, April 2003 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] SUMMARY OF THE
REPORT OF THE VISIT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TO THE PHILIPPINES - According to the
Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), 65 percent of the victims were women
and 25 percent of them were forced into prostitution; 51 percent of the
victims were trafficked with their consent/knowledge while 47 percent were
deceived. Priest sets
children free - Missionary to Philippines
wages ongoing battle against prostitution Ramon Gonzalez,
Western Catholic Reporter WCR Staff Writer, Edmonton, Week of May 15, 2000 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] In 1999 PREDA,
through the International League of Action, was able to bring to justice a
group of Norwegians who were trafficking children from one town in the
Philippines and bringing them to Oslo for sexual abuse. The youngest of these
children were six and seven years old. Internal
Trafficking in Children for the Worst Forms of Child Labour: Final Report Amparita S. Sta.
Maria, Mary Jane L. Zantua & Rea A. Chiongson, Collection of Studies from
Other Institutions, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Socio
economic Research Portal for the Philippines, CHL 2001-31 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] This paper presents
an overview of internal trafficking in children, with focus on the worst
forms of child labour. Admittedly, much of previous researches and
discussions on trafficking as a phenomenon had been generally concentrated on
women. As far as children are concerned, and at least within the Philippine
setting, trafficking has been construed more in the context of their sale,
barter and illegal smuggle out of the country. This research document is
based on the following data: (1) interviews conducted with seven trafficked
children; (2) three case studies representing different modes of trafficking;
and, (3) previous researches and studies made by government agencies and
non-governmental organizations which focus on children and child labour. This paper presents
the following conclusions: 1. Acknowledging Poverty as the Major Push Factor
in Trafficking: Poverty as the major determining factor in trafficking of
children cannot be overemphasized. It is the main reason why children are
forced to work and why they must work and abandoning school in the process. 2. Call for a Comprehensive Definition of
Trafficking and Continuous Data Gathering: There is no doubt that trafficking
plays an important role in the exploitation of children for the worst forms
of child labour. Although not all children experience being trafficked, it is
highly possible that a significant proportion of them do. Trafficking
therefore must be analyzed separately from the exploitation that proceeds
from it. Its actual relation with and impact on the number of children
exploited must also be realistically assessed. Without the ... Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 3 June 2005 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/philippines2005.html [accessed 16
December 2010] [85] The Committee
welcomes the adoption of, in 2003, the new Anti-Trafficking Law (Republic Act
9208) and other measures taken by the State party in the areas of prevention
of trafficking and protection of victims, such as the establishment of
Anti-Illegal Recruitment Coordination Councils, the Trade Union Child Labor
Advocate (TUCLAS) initiative and the establishment of an Executive Council to
suppress trafficking in person particularly women and children. But the
Committee is gravely concerned about trafficked Filipino children both within
the country and across borders. The Committee expresses its concern about
existing risk factors contributing to trafficking activities, such as
persisting poverty, temporary overseas migration, growing sex tourism and
weak law enforcement in the State party. ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, March 8, 2006 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61624.htm [accessed 10
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Both adults and children were trafficked domestically from poor, rural
areas in the southern and central parts of the country to major urban
centers, especially Metro Manila and Cebu, but also increasingly to cities in
Mindanao. A significant percentage of the victims of internal trafficking
were from Mindanao and were fleeing the poverty and violence in their home
areas. Approximately 75 percent of the trafficking victims provided with
temporary shelter and counseling by the NGO Visayan Forum Foundation were
from Mindanao. The Visayan islands were also a source of trafficking victims.
Women and girls were far more at risk of becoming victims of trafficking than
men and boys. Traffickers
targeted persons seeking overseas employment. Most recruits were females ages
13 to 30 from poor farming families. The traffickers generally were private
employment recruiters and their partners in organized crime. Many recruiters
targeted persons from their own hometowns, promising a respectable and
lucrative job. Victims faced
exposure to sexually transmitted or other infectious diseases, and were
vulnerable to beatings, sexual abuse, and humiliation The Department of
Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/philippines.htm [accessed 16
December 2010] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are reportedly trafficked internally for
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and labor. Children are also known to be involved in
the trafficking of drugs within the country.
There are no reports of child soldiers in the government armed forces,
but children under the age of 18 are used as soldiers in paramilitary and
armed opposition groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Abu
Sayyaf Group and the New People’s Army. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery -
Philippines", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Philippines.htm,
[accessed <date>] |
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