News Highlights: May 23, 2024

10 trafficking victims rescued in Laguna

BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

TEN victims of human trafficking in Laguna, including seven who were rescued from “commercial sexual exploitation” activities, were rescued and are now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Social Welfare assistant secretary Irene Dumlao said the 10 “victim-survivors of human trafficking” who were rescued during operations in Biñan and Calamba in Laguna last May 10 and 16 are currently being provided immediate protection and support by the DSWD Field Office in the Calabarzon.

Dumlao said the victim-survivors were provided with psychosocial counseling and referral support for temporary shelter placement.

She said the DSWD is also helping the victims-survivors with their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration into their respective communities.

Dumlao said three of the victims are minors who were victims-survivors of Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM), while the seven others were rescued from commercial sexual exploitation.

“The DSWD, as the co-chair of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), condemns this kind of activity. We urge the public to report any human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Let us break the ‘no touch, no harm’ mentality. OSAEC and CSAEM is a form of violence against children and punishable crime under the law,” she said.

Dumalo said the rescue operations were conducted with the help of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) Anti-Human Trafficking Division.

She said DSWD is also closely coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to track and apprehend the perpetrators of such crimes and rescue the victims.

As this developed the DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, during the 1st National Congress on Adoption and Alternative Child Care held at the Rizal Park Hotel in Manila yesterday, reiterated his call for a stop on the illegal online sale of babies and illegal adoption of children.

Gatcahlian reiterated that the sale of children is the cruelest form of human trafficking.

NACC executive director Undersecretary Janella Estrada, in an