From Quiboloy’s human trafficking charges to the Epstein files, it is evident that systemic gaps persist and leave women and children vulnerable to horrendous crimes by complicit officials and people with high positions in society.
In the 2023 Global Slavery Index (GSI) by the Walk Free international human rights group, the Philippines ranks seventh in the Asia Pacific region (out of 27 countries) in the prevalence and the total number of people living in any situation of exploitation or what they call “modern slavery”, and 36th out of 160 globally. The GSI estimates 859,000 that on any given day in 2021, there were 859,000 Filipinos in modern slavery, which is equivalent to 7.8 people in modern slavery for every thousand people in the country.
With one of the largest migrant populations in the world, the Philippines remains vulnerable to both domestic and overseas trafficking. Perpetrators not only include Filipino citizens but also tourists, specifically sex tourists, from more wealthy and developed countries that often dodge their sex offense charges in their home countries and look to exploit women and children here.
In the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report in the Philippines by the US Department of State, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippines National Police (PNP) investigated 500 trafficking cases (vs. 417 cases in the previous reporting period). The government prosecuted 446 alleged traffickers, 213 of whom for sex trafficking and 233 for labor trafficking (vs. 264 alleged traffickers: 217 for sex trafficking and 47 for labor trafficking in the previous reporting period).
In the end, the Courts convicted 143 traffickers, 120 for sex trafficking and 23 for labor trafficking (vs. 80 traffickers, 71 for sex trafficking and nine for labor trafficking in the previous reporting period).
So, how does the Philippine law protect its citizens and punish traffickers in this case?
What is the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208), as amended by Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 (RA 10364)?
The RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 institutes measures and development of programs that will promote human dignity, protect the people from any threat of violence and exploitation, eliminate trafficking in persons, and ensure the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of victims into the mainstream of society.
It adheres to the international human rights treaties and conventions to which the Philippine is a signatory, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR),United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime Including its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
In 2012, the Act was amended by RA 10364, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
How does the Act define “Trafficking In Persons” (TIP)?
“Trafficking in Persons” is an illegal act and a violation of human rights, characterized by three (3) interrelated and interdependent elements:
- Acts. Refers to recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim’s consent or knowledge, within or across national borders.
- Means. By threat, or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person
- Purpose. For exploitation which includes, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude, or the removal or sale of organs. However, the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, adoption, or receipt of a child for exploitation or when the adoption is induced by any form of consideration for exploitative purposes shall also be considered as “trafficking in persons” even if it does not involve any of the means mentioned above.
These elements must all be present and be linked to each other for it to be considered “trafficking”, except in the cases of child trafficking.
What are considered acts of TIP?
The following are punishable under Section 4 of the Act:
(a) To recruit, obtain, hire, provide, offer, transport, transfer, maintain, harbor, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment, training, or apprenticeship, for prostitution, pornography, or sexual exploitation;
(b) To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or other consideration, any person or, as provided for under RA 6955, any Filipino woman to a foreigner for marriage for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading him/her to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
(c) To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading them to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor or slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
(d) To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting of tourism packages or activities for the purpose of utilizing and offering persons for prostitution, pornography, or sexual exploitation;
(e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography;
(f)To adopt persons by any form of consideration for exploitative purposes or to facilitate the same for purposes of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
(g)To adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
(h) To recruit, hire, adopt, transport, transfer, obtain, harbor, maintain, provide, offer, receive, or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for removal or sale of organs of said person;
(i)To recruit, transport, obtain, transfer, harbor, maintain, offer, hire, provide, receive or adopt a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad;
(j) To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, obtain, maintain, offer, hire, provide or receive a person by means defined in Section 3 of this Act for purposes of forced labor, slavery, debt bondage, and involuntary servitude, including a scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person either:
1. To believe that if the person did not perform such labor or services, he or she or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint; or
2. To abuse or threaten the use of law or the legal processes; and
(k) To recruit, transport, harbor, obtain, transfer, maintain, hire, offer, provide, adopt, or receive a child for purposes of exploitation or trading them, including but not limited to, the act of baring and/or selling a child for any consideration or for barter for purposes of exploitation. Trafficking for purposes of exploitation of children shall include:
1. The use, procuring or offering of a child for illegal activities or work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their health, safety or morals;
2. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and forced labor, including the recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
3. The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography, or for pornographic performances;
4. The use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs; and
Additionally, should there be any attempt to do the acts listed above but failed or did not execute all elements, either by accident, or of some cause other than voluntary desistance, it will be deemed as an attempted TIP.
Following this, if the victim is a child, any of the following are deemed as attempted TIP:
(a) Facilitating the travel of a child who travels alone to a foreign country or territory without valid reason therefor and without the required clearance or permit from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, or a written permit or justification from the child’s parent or legal guardian;
(b) Executing, for a consideration, an affidavit of consent or a written consent for adoption;
(c) Recruiting a woman to bear a child for the purpose of selling the child;
(d) Simulating a birth for the purpose of selling the child; and
(e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostiSoliciting a child and acquiring the custody thereof through any means from among hospitals, clinics, nurseries, daycare centers, refugee or evacuation centers, and low-income families, for the purpose of selling the child.
What are considered qualified acts of TIP?
Acts of TIP are severe in nature and are non-bailable when it is considered “qualified”, such as the following:
(a) When the trafficked person is a child;
(b) When the adoption is effected through Republic Act No. 8043, otherwise known as the “Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995” and said adoption is for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
(c) When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale. Trafficking is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group;
(d) When the offender is a spouse, an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian, or a person who exercises authority over the trafficked person, or when the offense is committed by a public officer or employee;
(e) When the trafficked person is recruited to engage in prostitution with any member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
(f) When the offender is a member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
(g) When by reason or on occasion of the act of trafficking in persons, the offended party dies, becomes insane, suffers mutilation, or is afflicted with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS);
(h) When the offender commits one or more violations of Section 4 over a period of sixty (60) or more days, whether those days are continuous or not, and
(i) When the offender directs or, through another, manages the trafficking victim in carrying out the exploitative purpose of trafficking.
Is promoting or facilitating also unlawful? What is considered promotion or facilitation of trafficking?
Yes, the promotion and facilitation of trafficking is unlawful. These are:
(a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use, or allow to be used any house, building, or establishment for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
(b) To produce, print, and issue or distribute unissued, tampered, or fake counseling certificates, registration stickers, overseas employment certificates, or other certificates of any government agency that issues these certificates, decals, and such other markers as proof of compliance with government regulatory and pre-departure requirements for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
(c) To advertise, publish, print, broadcast, or distribute, or cause the advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting, or distribution by any means, including the use of information technology and the internet, of any brochure, flyer, or any propaganda material that promotes trafficking in persons;
(d) To assist in the conduct of misrepresentation or fraud for purposes of facilitating the acquisition of clearances and necessary exit documents from government agencies that are mandated to provide pre-departure registration and services for departing persons for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
(e) To facilitate, assist, or help in the exit and entry of persons from/to the country at international and local airports, territorial boundaries, and seaports who own unissued, tampered, or fraudulent travel documents for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
(f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents, or personal documents or belongings of trafficked persons in furtherance of trafficking or to prevent them from leaving the country or seeking redress from the government or appropriate agencies;
(g) To knowingly benefit from, financial or otherwise, or make use of, the labor or services of a person held to a condition of involuntary servitude, forced labor, or slavery;
(h) To tamper with, destroy, or cause the destruction of evidence, or to influence or attempt to influence witnesses, in an investigation or prosecution of a case under this Act;
(i) To destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, or attempt to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, any actual or purported passport or other travel, immigration or working permit or document, or any other actual or purported government identification, of any person to prevent or restrict, or attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the person’s liberty to move or travel to maintain the labor or services of that person; or
(j) To utilize his or her office to impede the investigation, prosecution, or execution of lawful orders in a case under this Act.
How are traffickers punished under the Act?
- For acts of TIP. Any person found guilty of acts of TIP shall be penalized with imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of not less than 1 million but not more than 2 million pesos.
- For attempted TIP. Any person found guilty of committing attempted TIP shall be penalized with imprisonment of 15 years and a fine of not less than 500 thousand but not more than 1 million pesos.
- For qualified TIP. Qualified trafficking shall be penalized by life imprisonment and a fine of not less than 2 million but not more than 5 million pesos.
- For the promotion and facilitation of TIP. Any person found guilty of acts that promote TIP shall be penalized with imprisonment for 15 years and a fine of not less than 500 thousand but not more than 1 million pesos.
- For the use and engagement with TIP. Any person who buys or engages the services of trafficked persons for prostitution shall be penalized with imprisonment ranging from six (6) years to forty (40) years and fine ranging from 50 thousand to 5 million pesos. Additionally, a foreign offender shall be immediately deported and permanently barred from entering the country after serving jail terms, while a public official offender shall be dismissed from service and suffer perpetual absolute disqualification to hold public office.
Who are the agencies that address and monitor TIP?
- Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
- Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Philippine Commission on Women (PCW)
- Bureau of Immigration (BI)
- Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
- Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) (formerly the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)) and the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA)
- Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
- Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CF0)
- Local government units (LGUs)
What protection is given to trafficked persons?
- Legal Protection. Trafficked persons shall be recognized as victims of the act or acts of trafficking and, as such, shall not be penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of, or as an incident or in relation to, being trafficked based on the acts of trafficking enumerated in this Act or in obedience to the order made by the trafficker in relation thereto.
- Free Legal Assistance. The DFA, DOJ, DMW, and OWWA shall provide victims with free legal services which shall include information about the victims’ rights and the procedure for filing complaints, claiming compensation and other legal remedies available to them, in a language understood by the trafficked person.
- Right to Privacy and Confidentiality. At any stage of the investigation, rescue, prosecution and trial of an offense under this Act, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court personnel, social workers and medical practitioners, parties to the case, as well as editors, publishers, and reporters or columnists shall protect the right to privacy of the trafficked person and maintain confidentiality to encourage victims to file complaints.
- Temporary Custody and Witness Protection Program. The rescue of victims should be done as much as possible with the assistance of the DSWD or an accredited NGO that services trafficked victims. A law enforcement officer, on a reasonable suspicion that a person is a victim of any offense defined under the Act, including attempted trafficking, shall immediately place that person in the temporary custody of the local social welfare and development office, or any accredited or licensed shelter institution devoted to protecting trafficked persons after the rescue. Trafficked victims are also entitled to the Witness Protection and Benefits Program established under RA 6981 or the Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act.
- Victim Compensation Program. Under RA 7309, or the Victim Compensation Program, victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and violent crimes are to be provided compensation. The Act established the Board of Claims under the DOJ to evaluate and process claims applications.
Who may file a complaint?
Any person who has personal knowledge of the commission of any offense under this Act may file the complaint, including:
- The trafficked person or the offended party
- Spouse
- Parents or legal guardians
- Siblings
- Children
- Anyone with knowledge of the crime
STLAF handles criminal cases of this nature. Do not hesitate to reach out to us should you need guidance and assurance that your rights are ensured.
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Author/s: Patricia Minimo
About the author(s): Patricia is STLAF's Legal Writer-Researcher. She is a Communication graduate from the University of the Philippines – Baguio with a major in Journalism and a minor in Speech Communication.