The Commission on Human Rights strongly supports the passage of Senate Bill No.1794 that aims to intensify the government’s crackdown on human trafficking, and echoes the call of its proponent, Senator Win Gatchalian, to fortify collaborations among agencies to address the human trafficking issue in the country.

Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery. Throughout the Philippines and around the world, human trafficking tears communities apart, fuels criminal activity, and threatens the national security of the country. It takes many forms and can involve exploitation of both adults and children of all sexes and genders in exchange for labour and sex, among others.

The proposed legislation will give more teeth to the existing Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 as amended by the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, “to provide standards and guidelines on surveillance, interception, investigation, and prosecution of different forms of human trafficking, including sexual exploitation, prostitution, forced labor, slavery, removal or sale of organs, and pornography.”

In our previous statements, we have noted how the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the nationwide lockdowns, influenced the increases in online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). Quarantined online sex offenders are spending more time online, and vulnerable women and children are also confined at home, often with their traffickers. We recognise that In times of a health crisis, response to trafficked individuals is even more difficult.

According to UNICEF, the Philippines has become “the global epicentre of the live-stream sexual abuse trade” of which children are the usual victims. The challenge remains for us to protect the most vulnerable individuals while swiftly prosecuting their abusers.

The Commission welcomes the provision in this landmark bill to include the responsibilities of internet service providers (ISPs) and tourism-oriented establishments to proactively report such cases to law enforcement agencies and to prevent similar abuse. The lack of OSEC data, the inconsistency in data collection, sharing and analysis across agencies, and the complexity of internet-facilitated crimes has made it almost impossible to accurately capture the extent of the crime locally and globally.

For its part, the CHR has launched its own initiatives such as the e-Report sa Gender Ombud—an online portal that documents all forms of gender-based violence and helps in facilitating access to justice for the victims. We work in partnership with organisations and government agencies to ensure appropriate referral and responses to these kinds of human rights violations. Lastly, we extend our full cooperation to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in its action to quell human trafficking in the country. ###