A total of 118 persons were already convicted out of 1,519 human trafficking cases filed as of June 2013.

This was disclosed by  Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) Secretariat Atty. Neil Simon Silva during a forum with the theme: “Stop Trafficking Now: Iligtas Ating Kababayan, Human-Trafficking ay Labanan,” organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“It is still few, but the wheels of justice are grinding,” the DSWD, co-chair of IACAT, said.

Silva also revealed that most of those convicted were handed down the maximum penalty of life imprisonment and fines ranging from P1 million to as high as P8 Million. Most of those in the list of convicted human traffickers were involved in sex and cyber-sex trade preying on the underprivileged either by force, fraud or through a promise of big money.

“This should serve as a stern warning to those who are involved in human trafficking.” Silva added.

Also during the forum,  DSWD, presented its major intervention for victims of human trafficking and their families. Dubbed Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons (RRPTP), it provides victims with adequate recovery and reintegration services, psycho-social counseling, temporary shelter and other support services.

From January to March 2013, a total of 651 victims of  trafficking were served.  Of this number, 560 were referred to residential care facilities for temporary shelter assistance in the DSWD managed centers Haven for Women/Girls and Marillac Hills and in facilities managed by local government units. The remaining 91 cases were reintegrated into their respective families and communities.

The DSWD also said that it intensified its information campaign against trafficking through the  “Iligtas Mo Ako” cinema plug. The plug  features two modes of trafficking, namely: sexual and labor trafficking. It aims to visually present to the moviegoers the terrible and traumatic effects of human trafficking. The cinema plug, which will run for six months, also strongly appeals to the audience to help stop human trafficking by reporting cases that they know of to the hotline numbers (02) 9319141 or the IACAT Action Line 1343.

In 2012, Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-trafficking in Persons Act was enacted for a stronger anti-human trafficking measure, amending Republic Act 9208 or the “Anti-Human Trafficking in Persons Act.” ###