PAGES Philippine Report On The Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons Cases 2003-2013 28 February 2014

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PHILIPPINE REPORT ON THE

PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS CASES: 2003-2013
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www.humanwrongs.org
http://www.iacat.net
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2013 Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking (IACAT)

Department of Justice, Republic of the Philippines
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acknowledgments
This independent report was commissioned by the Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking of the
Department of Justice and the International Justice Mission with partial funding from the Kingdom
of Netherlands.
Author and Team Lead: Atty. Althea Acas Parreo, Sed Lex Professional Partnership Co.
Field Research: Kirsten Jade S. Diaz (Lead), Ivan Mark C. Galura, Jennifer Sarah O. Santos, Jaedick
S. De Leon, Angeline Mae S. Mata, Paolo B. Garcia, Rezcel A. Fajardo
Statistical Analysis: Francis Paul U. Baclay (Lead), Kirsten Jade S. Diaz
Additional Research: Mark Isaak S. Garrido, Nicholas C. Santizo, Jason R. Grospe
Administrative Support: Rachel C. Bucoy, Kirsten Jade S. Diaz
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* The title and headings of this report are in blue in honor of the Blue Heart Campaign Against
Human Tracking of the United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crime
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The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies or
views of the Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking (IACAT) and International Justice Mission (IJM).
Reference to IACAT and IJM does not imply endorsement by either of the accuracy of the information
contained herein or of the views expressed.
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PHILIPPINE REPORT ON THE PROSECUTION OF

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS CASES: 2003-2013
executive summary
key findings
introduction
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purpose
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scope and limitations
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definitions
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database indicators
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statistical report
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number of filed trafficking charges and identified trafficked

victims by administrative region
28
identified trafficked victims
30
types and spread of trafficking
36
suspected trafficker
38
criminal justice response
41
legal framework
50
the anti-trafficking act of 2003, as amended
51
other domestic laws used to fight trafficking in persons
52
international declarations, agreements, and conventions 59

way forward
64
annex
73
anti-trafficking in persons act of 2003
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executive summary
One of the continuing problems in the fight against tracking is the dearth of
evidence-based research upon which policy-making and policy-execution may
depend.
This is a problem not only in the Philippines but also in other countries. The 2012
United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crimes Report on Global Report in Tracking in
Persons stated that after the adoption of the Tracking in Persons Protocol in
2000, the number of studies on human tracking has boomed. Unfortunately,
because of the uneven quality of these studies they have not always contributed to
increase the knowledge on tracking. Based on a comprehensive literature review
carried out in 2008, out of 2,388 publications, only 741 met a basic level of scientific
rigour and most of them did not use a solid methodology.
Governmental anti-tracking eorts are often evaluated against three main points
prevention, prosecution and protection. The so-called 3Ps are based on the
framework established by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Tracking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which the Philippines
ratified in 28 May 2002.
This report focuses on the 2nd P (prosecution) and attempts to close the gap in
knowledge about the Philippine criminal justice response to tracking in persons
cases.
It provides a comprehensive database of filed tracking charges and identified

tracked victims based on case records filed with the oces of the prosecutors
and trial courts across the Philippines.
Statistical analysis is then made of the data gathered covering a ten year period
from the enactment of the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2003, and its
amendatory law, the Expanded Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2012, up to 20131.
Action points to address challenges borne out of the statistics gathered are
presented.
A presentation of the legal framework in the fight against tracking in persons is

also included as well as case summaries of tracking cases which have been
decided by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
The audit of cases was done over a six-month period, from June 2013 to November 2013.
key findings
over a 10 year period, there are 04.54 identified trafficked

victims for every 100,000 persons in the Philippines
number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

National, 04.54
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The number of identified tracked victims vary significantly across administrative
regions, provinces and cities. The data gathered reflects variations in population,
location and size of economy, among others. To narrow these dierences in the
interpretation of data, we used the demographic scale of per 100,000 persons on
a national, regional, provincial and city level of all victims recorded over a 10 year
period.
There were 4188 identified tracking victims in the 2294 charges of tracking filed
at the prosecutors oces across the Philippines over the 10 year period covered by
this report.
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the cities of pasay, manila, muntinlupa, mandaue and
zamboanga are top destination and transit points
Tracking cases are almost always filed in the place of rescue. The places of rescue
are either the destination or transit points. Data gathered show that the cities of
Pasay, Manila, Muntinlupa, Mandaue and Zamboanga are the top transit and
destination points of tracking in persons.

Pasay, 24.69

Manila, 20.09

Muntinlupa, 14.27

Mandaue, 11.17

Zamboanga City,
10.66
pasay city has 5/12 times the number of identified trafficked

victims compared to the national average

National, 04.54

Pasay, 23.93
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women are 5 times more likely to be trafficked than men

while girls are 10 times more likely to be trafficked than
boys
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boys
3%
girls
29%
women
56%
men
12%
With 85% of identified tracked

victims being women and girls,
tracking in the Philippines may be
considered as a form of gender-based
violence.
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children
26%
adults are 3 times more

likely to be trafficked
than children
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adults
74%
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9 in 10 filed trafficking charges involve sexual exploitation
0.22%
types of tracking
3.74%
5.43%
Labor Tracking
Sexual Tracking
Organ Tracking
90.62%
Use of Children for Armed
Conflicts
Sexual tracking, or
tracking for the
purpose of sexual
exploitation,
prostitution or
pornography, remain
to be the most
prevalent type of
tracking comprising
91% of all tracking
charges.
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not one person has been charged with the offense of use of
trafficked persons
Sec.5: Acts that promote

Tracking in Persons
5%
Sec.4e: Keep or Hire for

Pornography/Prostitution
41%
Sec.4f: Adoption or
Facilitating Adoption
0%
Other
0%
Sec.4a: Recruitment,
Transport and Transfer
50%
Sec.4g: Removal and

Sale of Organs
4%
Sec.4c: Oering or
Contracting Marriage
0%
Sec.4h: Child
Engagement in Armed
Activities
0%
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traffickers
are
commonly
charged
with
trafficking
1 or 2
victims
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accused
operating in
large scale
20%
accused not
operating in
large scale
80%
cases with 3 or
more accused
22%
cases with less

than 3 accused
78%
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cases commonly
charge 1 or 2
accused
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it takes average of 3 years and 3 months from filing of

complaint to convict a trafficker
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Based on cases that have resulted in conviction by the trial courts, the criminal
justice response to tracking cases is relatively fast compared to the average
duration in other criminal cases.
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This may be attributed to the fact tracking in persons cases are treated as a
special class within the criminal justice system with an Anti-Tracking in Persons
Task Force created by the Department of Justice and a directive from the Oce of
the Court Administrator to the trial courts to hear and decide tracking in persons
cases within 180 days from arraignment.
Number of days of
preliminary investigation
or inquest: 417 days
34%
Number of days from

issuance of resolution to
arraignment: 229 days
47%
Number of days from

arraignment to decision:
565 days
19%
investigating prosecutors found probable cause in 89% of

the charges filed
9%
2%
Dismissed based on lack of interest
to Prosecute
Resolution Issued in Favor of

Accused
89%
Resolution Issued In Favor of

Complainant
investigating prosecutors
found probable cause in
89% of the charges filed.
Nonetheless, there are
still dismissals based on
lack of interest to
prosecute, which
account for 8% of the
charges brought before
the prosecutor.
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51% of charges at the trial court level do not reach trial or

do not finish trial
Arraignment of Some of the Accused, 0.38%

Arraignment of All Accused, 1.84%
Pre-Trial, 2.88%
Outstanding Warrant of Arrest, 10.58%
Trial, 33.26%
Submitted for Decision, 0.81%
Acquitted, 2.60%
Guilty - of the Oense Charged, 6.40%
Guilty - of the Lesser Oense, 0.81%
Archived, 20.35%
Provisionally Dismissed, 0.22%
Dismissed, 19.80%
On Appeal to SC, 0.05%
Despite the high rate of prosecution favorable to the complainant, 51% of charges at
the trial court level do not reach trial or do not finish trial. This is because 10% of
charges at the trial court level have outstanding warrants of arrest, 20.19% are
archived, .22% are provisionally dismissed and another 19% are dismissed.
For the purposes of this report, trial court level charges are those which are no
longer at the preliminary investigation or inquest stage and the information is already
filed in court.
74% of of concluded trials result in conviction
Acquittal
27%
Conviction
73%
As used in this report concluded

trials are those where the
prosecution and defense presented
evidence and a full trial was held.
These do not include dismissals
due of lack of interest to prosecute
or dismissals due to failure or
refusal of the main witness, usually
the victim, to attend.
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there are 3 times the number of convictions under the

Aquino Administration compared to the Arroyo
Administration
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30
25
20
Arroyo Administration-37 convictions
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Aquino Administration-96 convictions
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0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
These convictions include those where trackers were found guilty of a

lesser charge.
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2010 philippine conviction rate: .023 per 100,000 persons
2010 global conviction rate: .154 per 100,000 persons
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introduction
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purpose
This report seeks to address the gap in knowledge in Philippine anti-tracking

eorts by providing a comprehensive database and statistical analysis of the
Philippine criminal justice response to tracking in persons.
Governmental anti-tracking eorts are often evaluated according to the so-called

3Ps Prevention, Prosecution and Protection. This 3P framework is set out in the
United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Tracking in Persons
especially Women and Children. This report has specific focus on the 2nd P
Prosecution. It covers a ten year period from the enactment of the Tracking in
Persons Act of 2003, and its amendatory law, the Expanded Anti-Tracking in
Persons Act of 2012, through 2013.
It is hoped these statistics will inform productive debate, policy making and policy
execution in the fight against tracking in persons.
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scope and limitations
This report covers cases filed from 2003 to 20132 with the Oces of the Prosecutor
and the Regional Trial Courts using the list of cases provided by the Inter-Agency
Council Against Tracking as a starting point.
Photographs of case files were taken and information directly gathered from case
files were then entered into a database. This database was the basis of the
statistical analysis contained in Part III of this report.
In the majority of cases, the research team was granted access to the case files and
allowed to review them.3 Where access to case files was not granted either by the
the Oce of the Prosecutor or the trial courts the team interviewed the personnel
who had custody of the file. Select case information would be given, usually
excluding identifying victim information. Cases which have outstanding warrants of
arrest, provisionally dismissed, archived and dismissed are often stored o-site and
full case records are seldom available for review.
Thus, depending on the available data, the universe for each of the data sets
change and these are clearly indicated in the Statistical Report to avoid any
misapprehension of data.
The audit of cases started in June 2013 and continued until November 2013.
The Secretary of Justice released a circular requesting prosecutors to allow members of the research team to
access case files with the various Oces of the Prosecutors. This was also presented to Regional Trial Courts.
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Specifically excluded in this report are police and Department of Social Welfare and
Development data on reported incidents of tracking. Also excluded are instances
of tracking which have not undergone preliminary investigation, inquest or trial.
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definitions
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Acts that Promote Tracking in Persons

Covers the following acts:
(a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow to be used any house,

building or establishment for the purpose of promoting tracking 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 which issues
these certificates, decals and such other markers as proof of compliance
with government regulatory and pre-departure requirements for the purpose
of promoting tracking 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 tracking 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
tracking 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 are in possession of unissued, tampered or fraudulent travel
documents for the purpose of promoting tracking in persons;
(f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents, or

personal documents or belongings of tracked persons in furtherance of
tracking or to prevent them from leaving the country or seeking redress
from the government or appropriate agencies;
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(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 in order to
prevent or restrict, or attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority,
the persons liberty to move or travel in order to maintain the labor or
services of that person;
(j) To utilize his or her oce to impede the investigation, prosecution or

execution of lawful orders in a case under this Act. [Sec. 5 of the AntiTracking in Persons Act]
Acts of Tracking in Persons

Covers the following acts committed by any person, natural or juridical:

(a) To recruit, obtain, hire, provide, oer, transport, transfer, maintain,
harbor, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the
pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship,
for the purpose of 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 Republic Act No.
6955, any Filipino woman to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose
of acquiring, buying, oering, selling or trading him/her to engage in
prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery,
involuntary servitude or debt bondage;

(c) To oer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of
acquiring, buying, oering, 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 oering
persons for prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation;
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(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 the purpose of
prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery,

(h) To recruit, hire, adopt, transport, transfer, obtain, harbor, maintain,
provide, oer, receive or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force,
fraud, deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of removal or
sale of organs of said person;

(i) To recruit, transport, obtain, transfer, harbor, maintain, oer, 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, oer, 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 suer serious harm or
physical restraint; or

and
(2) To abuse or threaten the use of law or the legal processes;

(k) To recruit, transport, harbor, obtain, transfer, maintain, hire, oer,
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. Tracking for
purposes of exploitation of children shall include:

(1) All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, involuntary
servitude, debt bondage and forced labor, including recruitment of
children for use in armed conflict;

(2) The use, procuring or oering of a child for prostitution, for
the production of pornography, or for pornographic performances;

(3) The use, procuring or oering of a child for the production
and tracking of drugs; and
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(4) The use, procuring or oering 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; and

(l) To organize or direct other persons to commit the oenses defined
as acts of tracking under this Act. [Section 4 of the Anti-Tracking in
Persons Act.
Adults

Refer to males and females who are aged 18 years old and above.
Anti-Child Abuse Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children

against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act of 1992, as
amended by Rep. Act No. 9231 (2003).
Anti-Child Pornography Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 9775 (2009) or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of
2009.
Anti-Mail Order Bride Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 6955 (1990) titled An Act to Declare Unlawful the
Practice of Matching Filipino Women for Marriage to Foreign Nationals on a
Mail Order Basis and Other Similar Practices, Including the Advertisement,
Publication, Printing or Distribution of Brochures, Fliers and Other
Propaganda Materials in Furtherance Thereof and Providing Penalty
Therefore
Anti-Tracking in Persons Act

Rep. Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2003, as
amended by Rep. Act No. 10368 or the Expanded Anti-Tracking in
Persons Act of 2012.
Batas Kasambahay

Refers to Rep. Act No. 10361 (2013) or The Domestic Workers Act or Batas
Kasambahay
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Boys

Refer to males aged below 18 years old.
Child Engagement in Armed Conflicts

Covers the following acts: to recruit, transport, obtain, transfer, harbor,
maintain, oer, hire, provide, receive or adopt a child to engage in armed
activities in the Philippines or abroad. [Sec. 4(i) of the Anti-Tracking in
Persons Act]
Children

Refer to males and females who are aged below 18 years old.
Concluded Trials

Concluded trials are those where the prosecution and defense presented
evidence and a full trial was held. These do not include dismissals due of
lack of interest to prosecute or dismissals due to failure or refusal of the main
witness, usually the victim, to attend.
Debt Bondage
Refers to the pledging by the debtor of his/her personal services or labor or
those of a person under his/her control as security or payment for a debt,
when the length and nature of services is not clearly defined or when the
value of the services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the
liquidation of the debt.
Dismissed Cases
Cases which do not finish trial because of any of the following factors:
violation of the Speedy Trial Act, non-appearance of witnesses or
complainants, lack of interest of the complainants to prosecute, or filing of
Adavits of Desistance by the complainants.4
Filed Tracking Charges

Refer to all charges captured in this report which have been at the
prosecutors level for preliminary investigation or inquest, including those
Refer to cases dismissed prior to the 2012 amendment of the Anti-Tracking Act. The amended Act prohibits
dismissals based on adavits of desistance.
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which have been moved through the criminal justice process i.e. preliminary
investigation or inquest, arraignment, trial and appeal.

Forced Labor and Slavery

Refers to the extraction of work or services from any person by means of
enticement, violence, intimidation or threat, use of force or coercion,
including deprivation of freedom, abuse of authority or moral ascendancy,
debt-bondage or deception.
Girls

Refer to females aged below 18 years old.
Identified tracked victims

Identified tracked victims are those who are persons identified as victims
of tracking in cases filed before the prosecutors oce and trial courts.
Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking (IACAT)

A council created under Sec. 20 of the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act
Inter-Country Adoption Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 8043 (1995) or the Inter-Country Adoption Act
Involuntary Servitude
Refers to a condition of enforced, compulsory service induced by means of
any scheme, plan or pattern, intended to cause a person to believe that, if
the person did not enter into or continue in such condition, that person or
another person would suer serious harm or other forms of abuse or physical
restraint, or the abuse or threatened abuse of the legal process.
Labor Tracking
Covers acts of tracking defined in Section 4 of the Anti Tracking Act for
the purposes of forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.
Large Scale Tracking

Tracking is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3)

or more persons, individually or as a group. [Sec. 6 (c) of the Anti-Tracking
in Persons Act]
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Men

Refer to males aged 18 years old and above.
Migrant Workers Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos
Act of 1995, as amended by Rep. Act No. 10022 (2009).
Oce of the Court Prosecutor (OCP)

Refers to the oces of the State Prosecutor, Provincial Prosecutor and City
Prosecutors created under the Prosecution Service Act.
Organ Tracking
Covers the following acts: to recruit, hire, adopt, transport, transfer, obtain,
harbor, maintain, provide, oer, receive or abduct a person, by means of
threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for
the purpose of removal or sale of organs of said person.
Pornography
Refers to any representation, through publication, exhibition,
cinematography, indecent shows, information technology, or by whatever
means, of a person engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or
any representation of the sexual parts of a person for primarily sexual
purposes.
Prosecution Service Act

Refers to Rep. Act No. 10071 or the Prosecution Service Act of 2010.
Prosecutor Level Charges

Prosecutor Level Charges are those which have been filed before the Oces
of the Prosecutor - state, regional, provincial and city. It includes those which
are undergoing preliminary investigation, inquest and those which have been
resolved.
Provisionally Dismissed Cases

Provisionally Dismissed Cases are those which are temporarily dismissed at
the trial court level under Section 8, of Rule 117 of the Revised Rules of
Court. The said rule allows for a provisional or temporary dismissal when it
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is with the express consent of the accused and with notice to the oended
party. The provisional dismissal of oenses punishable by imprisonment not
exceeding six (6) years or a fine of any amount, or both, shall become
permanent one (1) year after issuance of the order without the case having
been revived.With respect to oenses punishable by imprisonment of more
than six (6) years, their provisional dismissal shall become permanent two
(2) years after issuance of the order without the case having been revived.
Prostitution
Refers to any act, transaction, scheme or design involving the use of a
person by another, for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct in exchange
for money, profit or any other consideration.
Regional Trial Court (RTC)

Regional Trial Courts exercise exclusive original jurisdiction in all criminal

cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any court, tribunal or body. [Sec.
20 of the Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, as amended, or the Judiciary
Reorganization Act of 1980]
Sexual Exploitation
Refers to participation by a person in prostitution or the production of
pornographic materials as a result of being subjected to a threat, deception,
coercion, abduction, force, abuse of authority, debt bondage, fraud or
through abuse of a victim's vulnerability.
Sexual Tracking
Covers acts of tracking defined in Section 4 of the Anti Tracking Act for
the purposes of prostitution, pornography, or sexual exploitation.
Suspected Trackers

Suspected Trackers are those persons, natural or juridical, who have

tracking in persons cases filed against them before the Oce of the
Prosecutor and the Regional Trial Courts.
Tracking in Persons
Tracking in Persons refers to the recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing,
oering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of
persons with or without the victims consent or knowledge, within or across
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national borders by means of 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 for the purpose of 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.
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, adoption or receipt of a

child for the purpose of exploitation or when the adoption is induced by any
form of consideration for exploitative purposes shall also be considered as
tracking in persons even if it does not involve any of the means set forth
in the preceding paragraph. [Section 3(a) of the Anti-Tracking in Persons
Act]
Tracking by a Syndicate

Tracking is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of

three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. [Sec.
6 (c) of the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act]
Trial Court Level Charges

Trial Court Level Charges are those charges which have undergone
preliminary investigation or inquest and the information has already been
filed in court.
Women

Refer to females aged 18 years old and above.
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database indicators
!The following are the database indicators used to gather and unify data:
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I. VICTIMS INFORMATION
a. Complete Name of Victim(s)
b. Gender of Victim(s)
c. Age of Victim(s)
d. Address of Victim(s)
II. ACCUSEDS INFORMATION
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a.
b.
c.
d.
Complete Name of Accused
Address of Accused
Number of Accused
Current Status of Accused
III. STAGES OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OR INQUEST (OCP)
a. I.S. No. or N.P.S. No.5
b. Name of Investigating Prosecutor
c. Venue of Investigation (where investigation of the case is on-going or

pending)
d. Section of RA 9208 Charged with
e. Stage of Preliminary Investigation:
i. Preliminary Investigation Ongoing
ii. Motion for Reconsideration of Resolution
iii. Resolution Issued in Favor of Accused
iv. Resolution Issued In Favor of Complainant
v. Dismissed Based on Lack of interest to Prosecute
f. Petition for Review Filed with DOJ:
i. No
ii. Yes Pending Resolution
iii. Yes Resolved in Favor of Accused
iv. Yes Resolved in Favor of Complainant
g. Date of Prosecutors Resolutions
!
!
IV. STAGES OF TRIAL (RTC)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
RTC Branch Number
City or Province
Criminal Case Number
Section of RA 9208 Charged with
Classification of tracking in persons case
i. Labor Tracking
ii. Sexual Tracking
iii. Organ Tracking
vii. Child Engagement in Armed Activities
f. Name of Handling Private Prosecutor
g. Name of Handling Public Prosecutor
h. Presiding Judge
i. Case Title
j. Date of Filing of Information
k. Date of Arraignment
l. Date of Pre-Trial
m. Date of Start of Trial
These are the docket numbers of the cases pending preliminary investigation or inquest. N.P.S. stands for
National Prosecution Service, while I.S. stands for Investigation Slip. The latter was used to docket cases at the
preliminary investigation or inquest stage prior to the enactment of the National Prosecution Service Act.
5
25
!
!
n. Date of Resolution
o. Specific Stage of Trial
i. Outstanding Warrant of Arrest
ii. Arraignment of All Accused
iii. Arraignment of Some of the Accused
iv. Bench Warrant of Arrest Issued
v. Pre-Trial
vi. Trial
ix. Submitted for Decision
x. Guilty - of the Oense Charged
xi. Guilty - of a Lesser Oense
xii. Acquitted
xiii. Archived
xv. Dismissed
p. Names of Accused Arraigned
q. Names of Accused Not Arraigned
r. Names of Accused Against Whom Bench Warrant of Arrest Is Issued

Against
26
!
statistical report
27
number of filed tracking charges and identified

tracked victims by administrative region
Over the 10 year period covered by this report, there were 2294 filed tracking
charges with 4188 identified tracked victims.
cases and victims of tracking per administrative region

2500
2000
1500
No. of Victims
1000
No. of Charges
500
Re
AR
C
AR
,0
%

gi M,
on
1%
Re XI

gi II, 1
on
%

Re XI
gi I, 1
on
%

Re VI,
2%
gi
Re on

gi
I
on , 2%
Re VIII
gi , 3%
on
Re X,
gi
3%
o

Re n I
I,
g
Re ion 3%

X
gi
on I, 3
%
I
Re V-B
,
gi
on 4%
Re IX,
4
Re gion %

gi
V
,5
on
Re IV- %
gi A,
o
7%
Re n I
gi II, 1
on
1
VI %
I,
N 13%
C
R,

35
%

The Philippines is divided into 17 administrative regions. Administrative regions

group provinces and cities for administrative convenience and do not exercise
political power except for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).6 All
administrative regions of the Philippines, apart from the National Capital Region
(NCR), are composed of provinces, independent cities (or those not within the
administrative and political control of the the province where it is geographically
located), component cities and municipalities. The NCR has no provinces and is
composed of cities and one municipality, Pateros. Provinces, cities and
municipalities exercise political power.7
Republic Act No. 6734 or the Organic Act of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), This law
called for a plebiscite in the the proposed areas of ARMM to determine which provinces would form part of the
ARMM. The provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu voted to join the ARMM.
7
Rep. Act No. 7610 or the Local Government Code of 1991.
28
Administrative regions are informally divided according to groupings of Philippine

islands: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao.
In Luzon, NCR has the highest number of identified tracked victims and tracking
charges. In Visayas, Region VII has the highest number of identified tracked
victims and tracking charges. In Mindanao, Region IX has the highest number of
identified tracked victims and tracking charges.
29
identified tracked victims
over a ten year period, there were 04.54 identified trafficked

victims for every 100,000 persons in the Philippines
National, 04.54
The number of identified tracked victims vary significantly across administrative

regions, provinces and cities. The data gathered reflects variations in population,
location and size of economy, among others. In order to narrow down these
variations across regions, provinces and cities, this report uses the demographic
scale of per 100,000 people on a national, regional, provincial and city level.
Using this demographic scale also provides comparable data to international

reports on tracking such as the United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crime Global
Report on Tracking in Persons.
There is 100% information available on the number of identified tracked victims on

a national, regional, provincial and city level.
!
!
30
regional rankings:
according to the number of identified trafficked victims
!
The distribution
of identified
tracked victims
per administrative
region over a 10
year period are
represented in
the graphs
herein.
NCR has the

highest number
of identified
tracked victims,
with 11.4
identified
tracked victims
per 100,000
persons. This is 2
1/2 times the
national average
of 4.54 identified
tracked victims.
While Region XIII

or the CARAGA
Region, has the
least number of
tracking cases
at .54 per
100,000 persons.
!
!
!

NCR, 11.74

Region VII, 09.71

Region IX, 08.58

Region II, 05.02

Region IV-B, 04.63

Region VIII, 04.54

Region III, 03.82

Region V, 03.47
31

Region XI, 03.36

Region X, 02.63

CAR, 02.47

ARMM, 02.33

Region I, 01.81

Region IV-A, 01.75

Region XII, 01.00

Region VI, 00.87

Region XIII, 00.54
32
provincial rankings:
The distribution of identified tracked victims in the top 5 provinces are represented
in the graphs below. These provinces have oces of the provincial prosecutor.
Specifically excluded from the provinces are those cities which have their own oce
of the city prosecutor. The province of Pampanga has the highest number of
identified tracked victims, with 05.08 identified tracked victims per 100,000
persons. This is just a little over the national average of 4.54 identified tracked
victims.

Pampanga, 05.08

Samar, 04.23

Quezon, 03.67

Biliran, 03.09

Bukidnon, 03.08
!
33
city rankings:
!
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Pasay, 24.69

Manila, 20.09

Muntinlupa, 14.27

Mandaue, 11.17

Zamboanga City,
10.53
These cities are where tracking charges are filed and where the greatest number
of identified tracked victims are found. As the place where the victim is rescued is
also almost always the place of filing of tracking charges, the statistical data show
that the cities of Pasay, Manila, Muntinlupa, Mandaue and Zamboanga are the most
common places where tracked victims are rescued in transit or are brought.
!
!
34
identified trafficking victims

by age and gender
boys
3%
Women and girls comprise 85% of

tracked victims. On the other hand,
men and boys comprise 15% of
tracking victims.
girls
29%
Women are 5 times more likely to be

tracked than men while girls are 10
times more likely to be tracked than
boys. These trends show that women
and girls are highly targeted by
trackers.
women
56%
men
12%
However, it is possible that the number of tracked children are underreported

because of several laws which overlap with the Anti-Tracking Act. There are two
other laws, the Anti Child Abuse Act and the Anti Child Pornography Act, that define
and penalize child abuse8 and child pornography9 both of which may also be acts of
sexual tracking. Another law that overlaps with the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act
is the Inter-Country Adoption Act10 which defines illegal adoption as adoption for
Rep. Act No. 7610, Sec. 3 (b) states in pertinent part: Child abuse" refers to the maltreatment, whether
habitual or not, of the child which includes any of the following:
!
!
(1) Psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment;
(2) Any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child
as a human being; xxx
Rep. Act No. 7610, Sec. 5 states in pertinent part: Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuseoccurs when
children, whether male or female, who for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to the coercion or
influence of any adult, syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be
children exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse. xxx
Rep. Act No. 7610, Sec. 7 states in pertinent part: Child tracking occurs when any person engages in the
trading and dealing with children including, but not limited to, the act of buying and selling of a child for money,
or for any other consideration, or barter xxx
Rep. Act No. 9775 (2009), Sec 3 (b) states in pertinent part: Child pornography" refers to any representation,
whether visual, audio, or written combination thereof, by electronic, mechanical, digital, optical, magnetic or any
other means, of child engaged or involved in real or simulated explicit sexual activities.
10
Rep. Act No. 8043 (1995).
35
exploitative purposes. 80% of identified tracking victims have information on age

and gender.
types and spread of tracking
trafficking charges by type of exploitation
0.22%
types of tracking
3.74%
5.43%
Labor Tracking
Sexual Tracking
Organ Tracking
90.62%
Use of Children for Armed
Conflicts
!
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!
!
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!
!
The following classifications were used in this report Labor Tracking, Sexual
Tracking, Organ Tracking and Use of Children Armed Activities.
9 out of 10 tracking charges in the Philippines involve sexual exploitation,

prostitution, or pornography. Often, labor tracking charges refer to cases of
domestic service.
Interestingly, while organ tracking comprise 4% of the tracking cases, almost all
are concentrated in one area Calauag, Quezon._ In the years 2005 to 2007, 50
people were tracked for their organs in Calauag. 18 of the 50 reported cases in
Quezon Province are attributable to the alleged tracker Rico De Jusay aka Rico
Jusay who has an outstanding warrant of arrest.
Prosecution of charges involving labor tracking, organ tracking and use of

children for armed conflict are relatively rare comprising less than 10% of filed
charges.
36
84% of tracking cases, excluding cases that were dismissed in the preliminary
investigation or inquest stages, and trial court level cases, have available data on
the type of exploitation.
ranking of provinces and cities:

according to the geographic spread of filed trafficking
charges
tracking cases by geographic incidence: city or province
Manila City, 14.43%
Cebu City, Cebu, 5.45%
Pampanga Province, 5.01%
Quezon City, 4.62%
Pasay City, 4.10%
Zamboanga City, 3.75%
Quezon Province, 3.18%
Rizal Province, 2.70%
Davao del Sur Province, 2.40%
Lapu-lapu City, Cebu, 2.44%
Bulacan Province, 2.22%
Bukidnon Province, 1.74%
Negros Oriental Province, 1.70%
Caloocan City, 1.53%
Camarines Sur Province, 1.74%
Isabela Province, 1.74%
Nueva Ecija Province, 1.53%
Pasig City, 1.66%
Mandaue City, Cebu, 1.61%
Makati City, 1.48%
Samar Province, 1.35%
Malabon City, 1.31%
Pangasinan Province, 1.26%
Cavite Province, 1.26%
Cagayan Province, 1.18%
Sorsogon Province, 1.05%
Muntinlupa Province, 0.96%
Las Pias City, 0.96%
Oriental Mindoro Province, 0.87%
Batangas Province, 0.87%
Zambales Province, 0.83%
Laguna Province, 0.83%
Tarlac Province, 0.78%
Paranaque City, 0.70%
Leyte Province, 0.78%
South Cotabato Province, 0.74%
Marikina City, 0.74%
Albay Province, 0.83%
Negros Occidental Province, 0.70%
Mandaluyong City, 0.70%
Camarines Norte Province, 0.70%
Palawan Province, 0.61%
Davao del Norte Province, 0.70%
Ilocos Norte Province, 0.52%
Bataan Province, 0.52%
Valenzuela City, 0.44%
Taguig City, 0.48%
Lanao del Norte Province, 0.35%
Nueva Vizcaya Province, 0.39%
Agusan del Norte Province, 0.39%
Zamboanga del Sur Province, 0.35%
Toledo City, Cebu, 0.35%
Iloilo Province, 0.35%
Cotabato City, ARMM, 0.35%
La Union Province, 0.31%
Aklan Province, 0.31%
Masbate Province, 0.26%
Misamis Oriental Province, 0.22%
Ilocos Sur Province, 0.22%
Bohol Province, 0.22%
Biliran Province, 0.22%
Tawi-tawi Province, 0.22%
Catanduanes Province, 0.17%
Benguet Province, 0.17%
Zamboanga del Norte Province, 0.13%
Quirino Province, 0.13%
Misamis Occidental Province, 0.13%
Lucena City, Quezon, 0.13%
Compostela Valley Province, 0.13%
Baguio City, 0.13%
Zamboanga Sibugay Province, 0.09%
Sarangani Province, 0.09%
San Juan City, 0.09%
Occidental Mindoro Province, 0.09%
North Cotabato Province, 0.09%
Marinduque Province, 0.09%
Gumaca Municipality, Quezon, 0.09%
Eastern Samar Province, 0.09%
Aurora Province, 0.09%
Antique Province, 0.09%
Kalinga Province, 0.04%
Argao City, Cebu, 0.04%
!
37
The map above shows the tracking hotspots. Areas with the highest number of
tracking cases are in red. The size of the red dot indicates the number and
geographic spread of tracking cases. Cities that have an Oce of the City
Prosecutor assigned to it and provinces that have an Oce of the Provincial
Prosecutor assigned to it are listed here.
!
suspected tracker
charges are usually filed against 1 or 2 traffickers
Under the Anti-Tracking in

Persons Act, tracking is
deemed committed by a
syndicate if carried out by a
group of three (3) or more
persons conspiring or
confederating with one
another.
cases with 3 or
more accused
22%
cases with less

than 3 accused
78%
99% of cases have data on

the number of trackers.
traffickers are often charged with trafficking 1 or 2 victims
accused
operating in
large scale
20%
accused not
operating in
large scale
80%
Under the AntiTracking in Persons

Act, tracking is
deemed committed in
large scale if
committed against
three (3) or more
persons, individually
or as a group.
Among the notable

cases where there was
large scale tracking
involved are: in Quezon Province, one suspect tracked 18 people for the removal
38
and sale of their kidneys.11 In Samar, one person was found guilty of 7 counts of
tracking committed against 7 victims.12 In Bukidnon, one person was prosecuted
for 16 counts of tracking committed against 16 victims but remains at large.13 In
Malabon, one person is being tried for 5 counts of tracking committed against 5
victims.14 In Pasig and Mandaluyong, one person was charged with 4 counts of
tracking committed against 4 victims.15 In Quezon, one suspect was charged with
22 counts of tracking committed against 22 victims but remains at large with an
outstanding warrant of arrest.16 In Biliran, one suspect was charged with 4 counts of
tracking committed against 4 victims.17 In Quezon City, one suspect is being tried
for 12 counts of tracking committed against 4 victims.18
93% of tracking charges have information on the number of victims.
traffickers are often charged under section 4a and section

4e of the anti-trafficking act
Sec.5: Acts that promote

Tracking in Persons
5%
Sec.4e: Keep or Hire for

Pornography/Prostitution
41%
Sec.4f: Adoption or
Facilitating Adoption
0%
Other
0%
Sec.4a: Recruitment,
Transport and Transfer
50%
11
See Region IV Database
12
See Region VIII Database
13
See Region X Database
14
See National Capital Region Database
15
16
See Region VI Database
17
See Region VIII Database
18
Sec.4g: Removal and

Sale of Organs
4%
Sec.4c: Oering or
Contracting Marriage
0%
Sec.4h: Child
Engagement in Armed
Activities
0%
Section 4(a)
defines the
following as
acts of
tracking to
recruit, obtain,
hire, provide,
oer,
transport,
transfer,
maintain,
harbor, or
receive a
person by any
means,
39
including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or

training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, or sexual
exploitation. While section 4(e) covers the following acts of tracking: to maintain
or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography. These findings tie with
the data that the most common type of tracking is for the purpose of sexual
exploitation. Notably, not one case has been filed for the use of tracked persons
for prostitution.
Data reflected in this chart are based on charges filed at the trial court. Excluding
those which have been provisionally dismissed, archived and dismissed, 84% of
tracking charges has available data on modes or acts of tracking.
!!
!
40
criminal justice response
Based on concluded cases or cases resolved by the trial courts after a full blown
trial, including cases which resulted in either conviction or acquittal, the criminal
justice response to tracking cases is relatively fast compared to the average
duration in criminal cases.19 This may be attributable to the fact that the
government has put in place several policies to specifically prosecute and resolve
tracking cases. The Department of Justice created an Anti-Tracking in Persons
Task Force20 while the Oce of the Court Administrator issued a directive to the trial
courts to hear and decide tracking in persons cases within 180 days, or 6 months,
from arraignment.21
from time of trafficking to conviction or acquittal
speed of criminal justice response

from time of tracking

Number of days from time

of tracking to filing of
complaint : 202 days
16%
Number of days of
preliminary investigation or
inquest: 338 days
43%
27%
14%
Number of days from

Number of days from
537 days
Identified tracked
victims are rescued
within 7 months
from tracking. It
takes 3 years and 5
months from the
time of tracking to
resolution of the
case. Time of
tracking is sourced
from the dates
indicated in the
information filed with
19
"if an accused were lucky enough and that he or she was accorded the shortest period a process can be
done in each stage of his orher case, the length of the whole case of such accused will be terminated in eight
(8) months in Mandaluyong City and ten (10) months in Quezon City. If however the accused were unlucky, if he
or she were in Mandaluyong City, his or her case can only be terminated after sixteen (16) years and if he or she
were from Quezon City, the case can only be terminated after eighteen (18) years. These things however have
not yet happened. But all cases are finished between eight (8) months to sixteen (16) years in Mandaluyong City
and between ten (10) months to eighteen (18) years in Quezon City. On the average however, cases are
terminated more or less five (5) years in Mandaluyong City and six (6) years in Quezon City."Based on a study
conducted by the Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc., How Speedy are Philippine Criminal Cases
Disposed Of? http://primary.hlafphil.org/index.php/library/downloadables/category/1-research (last accessed 13
December 2013)
20
Department of Justice Order No. 754, s. of 2009 created the task force. Department of Justice Order No. 700,
s. of 2011, reconstituted the task force.
The Circular dated October 26, 2010 has the following subject: Speedy Disposition of Cases for Violations of
Republic Act No. 9208 (Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2003) or Tracking in Persons Cases
21
41
the trial courts. Trial proper, or from arraignment to decision, takes a about a year
and a half.
!
from time of filing of complaint to conviction or acquittal
Again based on
speed of criminal justice response
from time of filing of complaint
concluded cases or

cases resolved by
Number of days of
the trial courts after
inquest: 338 days
a full blown trial,
32%
including cases
which resulted in
Number of days from
51%
either conviction or
acquittal, the
criminal justice
17%
response to
Number of days from
tracking cases is
537 days
relatively fast
compared to the
average duration in
cases, especially so when computed from the time a tracking complaint is filed
with the prosecutor. It takes 2 years and 10 months from the time of filing a
complaint with the prosecutor to the resolution of the case.
from time of trafficking to conviction
Looking at the
criminal justice
response only
from cases which
resulted in
convictions, it
takes 3 years and
9 months from the
time of tracking
to convict a
tracker.
10%
Number of days from time

of tracking to filing of
complaint : 145 days
Number of days of
inquest: 417 days
42%
31%
17%
Number of days from

Number of days from
565 days
!
42
from time of filing of complaint to conviction
!
!
Looking again at
the criminal
justice response
only from cases
which resulted in
convictions, it
takes 3 years
and 3 months
from the time of
filing a complaint
with the
prosecutor to
convict a
tracker.
34%
Number of days of
preliminary investigation
or inquest: 417 days
Number of days from
47%
Number of days from

565 days
19%
!
status of trial court level charges
!
!
For purposes of this report, trial court level charges are those which have beed filed
before the Regional Trial Courts and are no longer undergoing preliminary
investigation or inquest. Since charges on appeal with the Supreme Court comprise
less than one-fourth of a percent and are statistically insignificant, these were also
included the trial court level cases. It includes those where some or all of the the
accused are arraigned, those which are undergoing pre-trial, trial, those which have
been provisionally dismissed, those which have been archived and those which
dispositive orders have been rendered.22
10.58% of trial court level cases have outstanding warrants of arrest, 20.35% are
archived, .22% are provisionally dismissed and 19.80% have been dismissed. Thus,
51% of filed tracking charges do not begin trial, because the accused is at large
and has not been arraigned, or do not finish trial, because the charges are
provisionally dismissed, archived or dismissed, oftentimes because the victim
refuses to testify or has filed an adavit of desistance23.
22
Dispositive orders include judgments after a trial on the merits and those dismissed because of lack of
interest to prosecute.
Prior to the 2012 amendments to the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act, a filed Adavit of Desistance was
considered as a valid ground to dismiss a complaint.
23
43
Trial courts archive cases based on the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court, in
the exercise of its administrative supervision over all trial courts. Criminal cases,
such as tracking in persons cases, may only be archived if, after the issuance of
the warrant of arrest, the accused remains at large for six (6) months from the
delivery of the warrant to the proper peace ocer.24
Arraignment of Some of the Accused, 0.38%

Arraignment of All Accused, 1.84%
Pre-Trial, 2.88%
Outstanding Warrant of Arrest, 10.58%
Trial, 33.26%
Submitted for Decision, 0.81%
Acquitted, 2.60%
Guilty - of the Oense Charged, 6.40%
Guilty - of the Lesser Oense, 0.81%
Archived, 20.35%
Provisionally Dismissed, 0.22%
Dismissed, 19.80%
On Appeal to SC, 0.05%
The court, motu proprio or upon motion of any party, may likewise archive a criminal
case when proceedings are ordered suspended for an indefinite period because of
the following: a) the accused is suering from an unsound mental condition; b)
existence of a valid prejudicial question in a civil case during the pendency of the
criminal case; c) an interlocutory order or incident is elevated to, and is pending
before a higher court, which thereafter, has issued a temporary restraining order or
writ of preliminary injunction; and d) when an accused has jumped bail before
arraignment and cannot be arrested by his bondsmen.25
However, archiving rules are not uniformly implemented. While a majority of the
cases have outstanding warrants of arrest for more than six (6) months, some
provisionally dismissed cases are also sometimes archived.
OCA Circular No. 89-04 dated August 12, 2004 has the following subject: Reiteration of the Guidelines in
Archiving Cases
24
25
Ibid.
44
Majority of dismissals at the trial court level are based on Adavits of Desistance.
Prior to the 2012 amendments to the Anti-Tracking Act, there was no prohibition
on the use of Adavits of Desistance as a basis to dismiss a case.26 The
amendment directs both the public and private prosecutors to oppose and manifest
objections to motions of dismissals.27 This amendment was a legislative response
borne out of numerous cases that have been dismissed based on Adavits of
Desistance.
Nonetheless, when the prosecutors case rest solely on the testimony of the victim
and no other evidence is presented or is available to be presented, the case will be
dismissed.
In a 2013 case, a court in the Sixth Judicial Region dismissed the case against the
accused based on the violation of their right to a speedy trial. One year had passed
from the detention of the accused and they have not been arraigned because the
public prosecutors and the complainants failed to appear.28
On the other hand, less than half a percent are provisionally dismissed. In almost all
instances of provisional dismissal, the cause is the non-appearance of the
complainant or the material witnesses during the presentation of the prosecutions
case. A particular case in the Seventh Judicial Region was provisionally dismissed
for failure of the material witnesses, the police, to appear.29
In another case decided in April 2013, a court in the Fifth Judicial Region allowed
the case to be provisionally dismissed primarily due to the settlement of the civil
aspect of the case.30
26
Section 8.Initiation and Prosecution of Cases.
xxx
xxx
xxx
(c)Adavit of Desistance. Cases involving tracking in persons should not be dismissed based
on the adavit of desistance executed by the victims or their parents or legal guardians. Public
and private prosecutors are directed to oppose and manifest objections to motions for dismissal.
Any act involving the means provided in this Act or any attempt thereof for the purpose of securing
an Adavit of Desistance from the complainant shall be punishable under this Act. [As amended
by R.A. 10364]
27
Ibid.
28
People vs. Shin and Botor, Crim Case No. 10583, Sixth Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court, Branch 7,
Kalibo, Aklan.
29
People vs. Epe, et al. Criminal Case No. 14728, Seventh Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court, Branch 49, City
of Tagbilaran
People v. Competente, Criminal Case No. 13653, Fifth Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court, Branch 40, Daet,
Camarines Norte
30
45
The likelihood of provisionally dismissed cases being revived are slim, resulting in
their eventual dismissal. The rule on provisional dismissals31 is found in Section 8,
Rule 117 of the Revised Rules of Court:
SEC.8. Provisional dismissal. A case shall not be provisionally

dismissed except with the express consent of the accused and with
notice to the oended party.
The provisional dismissal of oenses punishable by imprisonment not

exceeding six (6) years or a fine of any amount, or both, shall become
permanent one (1) year after issuance of the order without the case
having been revived. With respect to oenses punishable by
imprisonment of more than six (6) years, their provisional dismissal
shall become permanent two (2) years after issuance of the order
without the case having been revived.
Since tracking oenses are penalized with at least 6 years of imprisonment, the
time bar for the revival of the prosecution is 2 years.
On the other hand, 33.26% are on active trial. If the Supreme Courts guidelines are
followed, these cases should be tried and decided within 180 days or 6 months
from the time of arraignment.32 Realistically however, the median period for trial,
using the cases which resulted in either acquittal or conviction, is 565 days or 1 year
and 5 months.
!
!
!
!
!
31
A case is provisionally dismissed if the following requirements concur: 1) the prosecution with the express
conformity of the accused, or the accused, moves for a provisional dismissal (sin perjuicio) of his case; or both
the prosecution and the accused move for its provisional dismissal; 2) the oended party is notified of the
motion for a provisional dismissal of the case; 3) the court issues an order granting the motion and dismissing
the case provisionally; and 4) the public prosecutor is served with a copy of the order of provisional dismissal of
the case. In People v. Lacson (400 SCRA 293 [2003]), we ruled that there are sine qua non requirements in the
application of the time-bar rule stated in the second paragraph of Section 8 of Rule 117. We also ruled that the
time-bar under the foregoing provision is a special procedural limitation qualifying the right of the State to
prosecute, making the time-bar an essence of the given right or as an inherent part thereof, so that the lapse of
the time-bar operates to extinguish the right of the State to prosecute the accused. [Los Banos vs. Pedro 586
SCRA 303 (2009)]
32
The Supreme Court, through the Oce of the Court Administrator, issued OCA Circular No. 151-2010 in the
exercise of its administrative supervision over all trial courts. The said circular ordered all trial courts to expedite
the disposition of cases involving violations of the Anti-Tracking Act which are mandated to be heard
continuously with hearing dates being spaced not more than two weeks apart. In addition, newly-raed ones
should be heard and decided within 180 days from arraignment of the accused.
46
concluded trials which resulted in conviction vs. acquittal
!
!
Of the charges
where a full trial on
the merits were held,
Acquittal
or concluded trials,
27%
133 charges or 76%
resulted in
convictions.
Specifically excluded
Conviction
here are those which
73%
have been
provisionally
dismissed, archived
or dismissed without
a full trial. Of the charges which resulted in convictions, 11% resulted in a finding of
guilt of a lesser oense than what was charged.
!
!
number of convictions under the Aquino Administration

compared to the Arroyo Administration
35
30
25
20
Arroyo Administration-37 convictions
15
Aquino Administration-96 convictions
10
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
47
The Aquino administration, in just a little over 3 years oversaw 96 convictions of

tracking chargers. However, the Arroyo administration in 8 years only oversaw 37
convictions. By way of comparison, the Aquino administration has 2 1/2 times the
number of convictions than the Arroyo administration.
using the metric set in the 2012 UN global report on

trafficking in persons
!
!
The 2012 United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crimes Global Report on Tracking in
Persons states that among the 100 countries which provided information on the
number of convictions for tracking in persons for the year 2010 (excluding a
limited number of exceptions), the rate ranged between 0 and 1.6 per 100,000
inhabitants. If the distribution of countries is considered according to the conviction
rates the majority of the countries registered conviction rates between 0 and 0.6. A
conviction rate above 1 was registered in very few cases, and the rate rose above
1.6 per 100,000 persons in only two cases. The mean value for the conviction rates
in 2010 among these 100 countries is 0.154 per 100,000 people.
In comparison, the mean value for the conviction rates in 2010 in the Philippines
is .023 per 100,000 persons.
number of convictions per 100,000 persons: national

0.0350
0.0325
0.0300
0.0282
0.0260
0.0250
0.0238
0.0200
0.0150
0.0100
0.0147
0.0105
0.0068
0.0050
0.0000
0.0045
0.0000
0.0000
2003
2004
2005
0.0000
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
* 100% of tracking cases has available data on the number of convictions per region
Courts, including the Court of Appeals and the Supreme

Court publish the names of the victims, contrary to Sec. 7 of
the Anti-Trafficking Act.
In all cases filed with the trial courts, names and other identifying information of the
victims are stated. In the two (2) cases on tracking decided by the Supreme Court,
48
one was a decision which stated the full name of the tracking victim.33 The other
one is a minute resolution which did not mention the name of the minor victims.
However in the same case, the names of the minor victims were explicitly stated in
the Court of Appeals decision.34
33
See People v. Lalli, G.R. No. 195419, 12 October 2011, 659 SCRA 105 (2011)
34
See People v. Ebarat, G.R. No. 203643, 10 April 2013 and People v. Ebarat, CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00912
49
legal framework
50
the anti-tracking act of 2003, as amended
The Anti-Tracking in Persons Act35 defines tracking in persons as covering acts

of recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing, oering, transportation, transfer,
maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victims consent or
knowledge36 by means of 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 for the purpose
of exploitation.37
The purpose of exploitation or type of tracking includes the prostitution of others

or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or
the removal or sale of organs38 as well as child engagement in armed activities.39
Tracking may be within or across national borders.40
In the case of children, tracking in persons exist even if it does not involve any of
the means stated above when the act of recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harboring, adoption or receipt of a child is for the purpose of exploitation or when
the adoption is induced by any form of consideration for exploitative purposes.41
The Anti-Tracking Act also separately defines oenses as acts of tracking,42 acts
promoting tracking,43 and qualified tracking.44 Attempted acts of tracking,45
accomplice liability46 and accessory liability47 are also separately penalized. Use of
Republic Act No. 9208 or the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by Rep. Act No. 10368 or
the Expanded Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of 2012
35
36
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 3 (a)
37
ibid.
38
ibid.
39
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Sec. 4 (i)
40
ibid.
41
ibid.
42
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 4
43
44
45
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 4-A
46
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 4-B
47
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 4-C
51
tracked persons for prostitution is now heavily penalized,48 with the added penalty
of dismissal from public oce and perpetual disqualification to hold oce for public
ocers. Convicted oenders who are foreigners are also deported after service of
their prison terms.
Notably, when a person is tracked for prostitution, the victim is no longer subject
to prosecution for prostitution under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines.49
Further, the amendments to the Act removed the confidentiality of the identity of
persons accused of tracking. Public identification of the suspected trackers
name may serve as a warning to potential victims.
The Anti-Tracking Act not only defines criminal acts of tracking but also seeks to
implement preventive, protective and rehabilitative programs to ensure the recovery,
rehabilitation and reintegration of tracking victims into the mainstream society.50
!
other domestic laws used to fight tracking in
persons
In the case of People v. Lalli,51 the Supreme Court ruled that when an act or acts
violate two or more dierent laws and constitute two dierent oenses, prosecution
under one will not bar a prosecution under the other. The Court explained that the
constitutional right against double jeopardy only applies to the risk of being
punished twice for the same oense, or for an act punished by a law and an
ordinance. The prohibition on double jeopardy does not apply to an act or series of
acts constituting dierent oenses. Hence, a tracker may be charged under the
Anti-Tracking Act and any of the following laws:
!
The Anti-Child Abuse Act
The Anti-Child Abuse Act52 was enacted in 1992 in consonance with the declared
policy of the State to provide special protection to children from all forms of abuse,
48
49
50
Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Sections 2 and 16
51
People vs. Lalli, 659 SCRA 105 (2011) citing People v. Tac-an, 261 Phil. 728, 746; 182 SCRA 601 (1990).
Rep. Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination
Act of 1992, as amended by Rep. Act No. 9231 (2003).
52
52
neglect, cruelty exploitation and discrimination and other conditions prejudicial to

their development.53
Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act, child abuse" is defined as the maltreatment,

whether habitual or not, of the child which includes any of the following: (1)
psychological and physical abuse, neglect, cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional
maltreatment; (2) any act by deeds or words which debases, degrades or demeans
the intrinsic worth and dignity of a child as a human being; (3) unreasonable
deprivation of his basic needs for survival, such as food and shelter; or (4) failure to
immediately give medical treatment to an injured child resulting in serious
impairment of his growth and development or in his permanent incapacity or
death.54 Child prostitution is also defined in the law as children, whether male or
female, who for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to the coercion or
influence of any adult, syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious
conduct, are deemed to be children exploited in prostitution and other sexual
abuse.55
Further, the Anti-Child Abuse Act provides that no child shall be engaged in the
worst forms of child labor.56 Worst forms of child labor include all forms of slavery,
as defined under the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act, or practices similar to slavery
such as sale and tracking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or
compulsory labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; the
use, procuring, oering or exposing of a child for prostitution, for the production of
pornography or for pornographic performances; or the use, procuring or oering of
a child for illegal or illicit activities, including the production and tracking of
dangerous drugs and volatile substances prohibited under existing laws; and work
which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is hazardous or
likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children.57
!
The Anti-Child Pornography Act
The Anti-Child Pornography Act was enacted in 2009 in response to the need of
protecting every child from all forms of exploitation and abuse including, but not
limited to the use of a child in pornographic performances and materials and the
53 Rep.
Act. No. 7610 (1992), Sec. 2.
54
Rep. Act. No. 7610 (1992), Sec. 3 (b).
55
Rep. Act. No. 7610 (1992), Sec. 5.
56
Rep. Act. No. 7610 (as amended), Sec. 12-D.
57
Ibid.
53
inducement or coercion of a child to engage or be involved in pornography through

whatever means.58
Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act, the Anti-Child Pornography Act defines child
pornography as any representation, whether visual, audio, or written combination
thereof, by electronic, mechanical, digital, optical, magnetic or any other means, of
child engaged or involved in real or simulated explicit sexual activities.59 Under the
Anti-Child Pornography Act it is unlawful to hire, employ, use, persuade, induce or
coerce a child to perform in the creation or production of any form of child
pornography.60 To further emphasize the States policy against child pornography,
willfully accessing any form of child pornography61 and mere possession of any
form of child pornography62 are likewise punishable under this Act. It is also
prohibited to knowingly, willfully and intentionally provide a venue, such as but not
limited to, dens, private rooms, cubicles, cinemas, houses, or in establishments
purporting to be a legitimate business, for the commission of prohibited acts.63
Moreover, film distributors, theaters and telecommunication companies, by
themselves or in cooperation with other entities, are prohibited from distributing any
form of child pornography.64
!
Batas Kasambahay
The Batas Kasambahay was enacted in 2013 in recognition of the need to protect
the rights of domestic workers65 against abuse, harassment, violence, economic
exploitation and performance of work that is hazardous to their physical and mental
58
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 2.
59
Rep. Act No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 3 (b)
60
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 4 (a).
61
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 4 (j).
62
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 4 (l).
63
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 4 (e).
64
Rep. Act. No. 9775 (2009), Sec. 4 (f).
65
Domestic worker or kasambahay refers to any person engaged in domestic work within an employment
relationship such as, but not limited to, the following: general househelp, nursemaid or yaya (nanny), cook,
gardener, or laundry person, but shall exclude any person who performs domestic work only occasionally or
sporadically and not on an occupational basis. Note that the term shall not include children who are under foster
family arrangement, and are provided access to education and given an allowance incidental to education, i.e.
baon (school allowance), transportation, school projects and school activities. cf. Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2012),
Sec. 2 (c) and Sec. 4 (d).
54
health.66 Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act, Batas Kasambahay, specifically

declares as unlawful debt bondage.67 Debt bondage refers to the rendering of
service by the domestic worker as security or payment for a debt where the length
and nature of service is not clearly defined or when the value of the service is not
reasonably applied in the payment of the debt.68
Among the rights and privileges accorded to domestic workers include creating a
standard of treatment,69 providing board, lodging and medical attendance,70 oering
a guarantee of privacy,71 and establishing the domestic workers right to education
and training.72
!
The Anti-Mail Order Bride Act
The Anti-Mail Order Bride Act was enacted in 1990. Relevant to the Anti-Tracking
Act, a violation of the Anti-Mail Order Bride Act is considered as an act of
tracking. Under the Anti-Mail Order Bride Act it is unlawful for a person to
establish a business which has for its purpose the matching of Filipino women for
marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal
introduction73 and to advertise, publish, print or distribute74 materials which
promote match-making of Filipino women to foreigners by newspaper, magazine,
television or radio station, or other media, or of an advertising agency, printing
company or other similar entities.75
!
!
!
66
Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2013), Sec. 2 (c).
67
Rep. Act No. 10361 (2013), Sec. 15.
68
Rep. Act No. 10361 (2013), Sec. 4 (a)
69
Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2012), Sec. 5.
70
Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2012), Sec. 6.
71
Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2012), Sec. 7.
72
Rep. Act. No. 10361 (2012), Sec. 9.
73
Rep. Act No. 6955 (1990), Sec. 2 (a) (1).
74
Rep. Act No. 6955 (1990), Sec. 2 (a) (2) (3) (4).
75
Ibid.
55
The Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act
The Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (Anti-VAWC Act) was
enacted in 2004.76 Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act, tracking acts may also be
considered as acts of violence against women and their children when the
perpetrator is a husband, former husband, or who has a sexual or dating
relationship with the victims.77 Violence against women and their children" is
defined as any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman
who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has or had a
sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a common child, or against her
child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which
result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suering, or
economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion,
harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.78 It includes, but is not limited to,
physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic abuse.79
Children under this Act are those below eighteen (18) years of age or older but are
incapable of taking care of themselves as defined under Republic Act No. 761080.
As used in this Act, it includes the biological children of the victim and other
children under her care.81
One of the main features of the Anti-VAWC Act is the issuance of Protection Orders.
A protection order is an order issued for the purpose of preventing further acts of
violence against a woman or her child and granting other necessary relief.82 The
relief granted under a protection order serve the purpose of safeguarding the victim
from further harm, minimizing any disruption in the victim's daily life, and facilitating
the opportunity and ability of the victim to independently regain control over her
life.83 The provisions of the protection order shall be enforced by law enforcement
agencies.84 The protection orders that may be issued under this Act are the
76
Rep. Act. No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 2.
77
Rep. Act No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 3 (a).
78
Rep. Act. No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 3 (a).
79
Ibid.
80
The Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act of 1992, as amended.
81
Rep. Act. No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 3 (h).
82
Rep. Act. No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 8.
83
Ibid.
84
Ibid.
56
barangay protection order (BPO), temporary protection order (TPO) and permanent
protection order (PPO).85
Violence against women and their children is considered as a public oense which
may be prosecuted upon the filing of a complaint by any citizen having personal
knowledge of the circumstances involving the commission of the crime.86
!
The Inter-Country Adoption Act
The Inter-Country Adoption Act was enacted in 1995 to regulate adoption by a

foreigner or a Filipino citizen permanently residing abroad when the the following
are done outside of the Philippines: filing of petition for adoption, undertaking of
supervised trial custody, and issuance of the decree of adoption.87
Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act, there is a presumption of illegal adoption when:

(1) consent for an adoption was acquired through, or attended by coercion, fraud,
improper material inducement; (2) there is no authority from the Board to eect
adoption;(3) the procedures and safeguards placed under the law for adoption were
not complied with; and (4) the child to be adopted is subjected to, or exposed to
danger, abuse and exploitation.88
!
The Migrant Workers Act
The Migrant Workers Act was enacted in 1995. Relevant to the Anti-Tracking Act,
the Migrant Workers Act defines and penalizes illegal recruitment. Illegal recruitment
may be a form of labor tracking when consent is not legitimately obtained.89 The
Migrant Workers Act defines illegal recruitment as any act of canvassing, enlisting,
contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers and includes
referring, contract services, promising or advertising for employment abroad,
whether for profit or not committed by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority
85
Ibid.
86
Rep. Act. No. 9262 (2004), Sec. 25.
87
Rep. Act. No. 8043 (1995), Sec. 3 (a).
88
Ibid.
89
Recruitment is considered an act of tracking when it is attended 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 for the purpose of exploitation. cf. Rep. Act No. 9208, as amended, Section 3 (a).
57
contemplated under Article 13(f) of Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended,

otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines. Any person is deemed as
engaging in the act of illegal recruitment if he oers or promises for a fee
employment abroad to two or more persons.
58
international declarations, agreements, and

conventions
In accordance with the Philippine Constitution, international and national laws, the
Philippines has ratified several international conventions relating to tracking in
persons such as:
1. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (CTOC);

Signed: 14 December 2000; Ratified: 28 May 2002
States that ratify this instrument commit to taking a series of measures against
transnational organized crime. Measures include (1) the creation of domestic
criminal oenses to punish such acts; (2) the adoption of new and sweeping
frameworks for extradition, mutual legal assistance and law enforcement
cooperation; and (3) the promotion oftraining and technical assistance for building
or upgrading the necessary capacity of national authorities. The CTOC is aimed at
primarily curbing human tracking, arms tracking and drug tracking.
2. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Tracking in

Persons, Especially Women and Children; Signed: 14 December 2000; Ratified:
28 May 2002
This Protocol is a supplement the CTOC. Its purpose is to prevent and prosecute
tracking in persons, paying particular attention to women and children; to protect
and assist victims of tracking, with full respect for their human rights; and to
promote cooperation among States in order to meet these objectives. The Protocol
provides a definition of "tracking in persons" and attempts to safeguard victims
while punishing the oenders.
3. The United Nations Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea
and Air (Smuggling Protocol); Signed: 14 December 2000; Ratified: 28 May 2002
The Smuggling Protocol also supplements to the CTOC. It is aimed at the

protection of the rights of migrants and the reduction of the power and influence of
organized criminal groups that abuse migrants. It emphasizes the need to provide
migrants with humane treatment and the need for comprehensive international
approaches to combating people smuggling, including the socio-economic
measures that address the root causes of migration.
!
!
59
4. The United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights (ICESCR); Signed: 19 December 1966; Ratified: 7 June 1974
This along with the ICCPR and Universal Declaration of Human Rights forms part of
what is commonly known as the International Bill of Human Rights. This convention
commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural
rights to all individuals regardless of race, gender, religion or immigration status,
including labor rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to
an adequate standard of living
5. The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
Signed: 19 December 1966; Ratified: 23 October 1986
This along with the ICESCR and Universal Declaration of Human Rights forms part
of what is commonly known as the International Bill of Human Rights. This
convention commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of all
individuals regardless of race, gender, religion or immigration status, including the
right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral
rights and rights to due process and a fair trial.
6. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women (CEDAW); Signed: 15 July 1980; Ratified: 5 August 1981
The Convention defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up
an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. It arms women's rights
to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children.
State parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of trac in
women as well as the exploitation of women.
7. The United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women (Optional Protocol to CEDAW); Signed:
21 March 2000; Ratified: 12 November 2003
Supplements the CEDAW by providing two procedures: A communications

procedure that allows women to submit claims of violations of rights protected
under the Convention to the Committee as well as an inquiry procedure enabling
the Committee to initiate inquiries into situations of grave or systematic violations of
womens rights.
!
!
!
60
!
!
8. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC); Signed: 26
January 1990; Ratified: 21 August 1990
This Convention provides for the full range of childrens rights. These are, the right
to survival, to develop to the fullest, to protection from harmful influences, abuse
and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. It also
requires State Parties to take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral
measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or trac of children for any
purpose or in any form.
!
!
9. The United Nations Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution
and Child Pornography; Signed: 8 September 2000; Ratified: 28 May 2002
This Protocol requires Party States to prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution
and child pornography. It provides for definitions of the above mentioned oenses.
It also creates obligations on governments to criminalize and punish the activities
related to these oenses. It requires punishment not only for those oering or
delivering children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, transfer of organs or
children for profit or forced labor, but also for accepting children for these activities.
!
!
10. The United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Trac in Persons and
of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others; Signed: 20 December 1950;
Ratified: 19 September 1952
This Convention requires State signatories to punish any person who "procures,
entices or leads away, for purposes of prostitution, another person, even with the
consent of that person", "exploits the prostitution of another person, even with the
consent of that person", run brothels or rent accommodations for prostitution
purposes. It also prescribes procedures for combating international trac for the
purpose of prostitution, including extradition of oenders.
!
!
11. The United Nations Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery

Accession: 17 November 1964
The Convention bans debt bondage, serfdom, early and servile marriage and child
servitude. The convention proposed to secure the abolition of slavery, the slave
61
trade and forced labor. This combines and supplements the 1926 Slavery
Convention and 1930 Forced Labor Convention.
12. The United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; Signed: 15 November
1993; Ratified: 5 July 1995
This Convention protects all migrant workers and members of their families,
irrespective of their immigration status. However, the rights granted to documented
and undocumented workers are not identical. It shall apply during the entire
migration process of migrant workers and members of their families, which
comprises of preparation, departure, transit and the entire period of stay and
remunerated activity in the State of employment as well as return to the State of
origin or the State of habitual residence.
13. The International Labor Organization Convention Concerning the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (Worst
Forms of Child Labor Convention); Signed: 17 June 1999; Ratified: 28 November
2000
This Convention prohibits the worst forms of child labor. Worst forms of child labor
is defined to include all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, the sale of a
child; tracking of children, debt bondage or any other form of bonded labor;
forced labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; commercial
sexual exploitation of children, prostitution; pornography; the procuring or oering
of a child by others for illegal activities, which includes the tracking or production
of drugs; and work which by its nature is likely to harm the health, safety or morals
of children
14. The International Labor Organization Convention Concerning Forced or

Compulsory Labor; Ratified: 15 July 1005
This Convention is intended to completely suppress the use of forced or

compulsory labor in all its forms within the shortest possible period. It is one of the
fundamental conventions of the ILO. It defines forced labor as all work or service
which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which
said person has not oered himself voluntarily.
!
!
!
!
62
15. Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Adopted: 10 December 1948
While not a treaty itself, the Declaration was explicitly adopted for the purpose of
defining and identifying the "fundamental freedoms" and "fundamental rights" of all
human beings, which eventually became the basis of the United Nations Charter,
which is binding on all member states. It includes the right to be free from slavery
under which the right against tracking can be found. For this reason the Universal
Declaration is a fundamental constitutive document of the United Nations.
16. The Association of South East Asian Nations Declaration on the Protection and
Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers; Adopted: 13 January 2007
As ASEAN countries are both origin and destination countries, the Declaration
encouraged the Participating Countries to cooperate in resolving the cases of
undocumented migrants as well as seek to protect the fundamental rights of
migrant workers and their families. It also outlines the obligations of destination and
origin countries and seeks to coordinate their policies on migration and protection
of rights.
17. The Association of South East Asian Nations Declaration Against Tracking of
Persons Particularly Women and Children; Adopted: 29 November 2004
The Declaration seeks to establish a regional focal network to prevent and combat
tracking in persons, particularly women and children, in the ASEAN region. Thus,
it seeks to encourage all Member States to protect the rights of all trac victims
and to enforce coercive action against trackers.
63
way forward
64
At this juncture it would be worthwhile to recognize that the Philippines has done a
significant amount of work in its fight against tracking. As early as 2003, it has
defined and criminalized tracking in persons using the guidelines set in the United
Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Tracking in Persons, Especially
Women and Children only after less than a year from the date of ratification. In order
to strengthen the law, the Philippine legislature passed in 2012 an amendatory law
to the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act, by increasing penalties and criminalizing even
an attempted act of tracking.
Further, the Department of Justice (DOJ) houses the secretariat of the Inter-Agency
Council Against Tracking and has created a dedicated Anti-Tracking Task Force.
In 2012, the budget given to the DOJ to prosecute tracking cases was 50 million
pesos.90 In 2013, this was doubled to 100 million pesos.91
Lastly, even the Supreme Court recognizes that tracking in persons is an

especially heinous act requiring speedy resolution.92
With the legislative and institutional framework in place, what is needed is just a
shift in focus on the allocation of time and resources in the fight against tracking.
The author hopes that these small changes in action will result into greater victories
in the fight against this modern form of slavery.
!
!
address the demand side of
the commercial sex trade by
focusing on the prosecution of
the offense of Use of Trafficked
Persons
Of all the tracking cases audited for this report, not one has been filed for the
oense of Use of Tracked Persons under Section 11 of the Anti-Tracking in
Persons Act. While the 2012 amendments to Section 11 have increased penalties,
convictions under this provision must be made to address the demand side of
sexual tracking. Based on findings sexual tracking comprise 91% of all
tracking cases.
90
Address of the President of Republic of the Philippines on the 2012 National Budget
91
Address of the President of Republic of the Philippines on the 2013 National Budget
92
OCA Circular No. 151-2010
65
As long as sexual tracking remains to be profitable, there will always be trackers

and tracking victims. Prosecuting and convicting persons for the use of tracked
persons, and equally important, by publicizing such convictions, would serve as a
deterrent to such exploitation. An increased focus on the crime of Use of Tracked
Persons can be included in IACATs program to prevent and suppress the tracking
in persons.93
Sweden, which banned the purchase of sexual services since 1999, saw its street
prostitution significantly decrease.94 Nonetheless, there is a general sense that
payment for sex, where the initial contact is made through the internet, is growing in
number in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.95
The Philippine Government has established a CyberCrime unit within the National
Bureau of Investigation which specifically prosecutes crimes committed using the
internet, which includes cyber pornography.
Hence, hand in hand with intensifying the prosecution of the the oense of use
tracked persons, cyber tracking must also be closely watched.
As a society, we must also address the issue of how boys are brought up to be men
that paying for sex encourages commercial sex trade which worsens sexual
tracking.
!
move away from relying mainly
on the victims testimony in
trafficking in persons cases
both from the viewpoint of
case build up by the
prosecution and from the
93
Section 21 of the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act.
94
Human tracking for sexual purposes is a growing form of serious economic crime in large areas of the
world. Although it is hard to assess the exact scale of human tracking for sexual purposes, in Sweden the
establishment of this kind of crime is considered to be substantially smaller in scale than in other comparable
countries. According to the Swedish Police, it is clear that the ban on the purchase of sexual services acts as a
barrier to human trackers and procurers who are considering establishing themselves in Sweden.
Selected extracts of the Swedish government report SOU 2010:49: The Ban against the Purchase of Sexual
Services. An evaluation 1999-2008 http://www.government.se/content/1/c6/15/14/88/0e51eb7f.pdf (last
accessed 04 February 2014)
95
In the last five years, Internet prostitution has increased in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. ibid.
66
viewpoint of case analysis by

the courts
In a 2013 case, a court in the Sixth Judicial Region dismissed the case against the
accused based on the violation of their right to a speedy trial.96 One year had
passed from the detention of the accused and they have not been arraigned
because the public prosecutors and the complainants failed to appear.97 While
Adavits of Desistance are no longer allowed after the 2012 amendments to the
Anti-Tracking Act, so long as the main evidence of the prosecution is the
testimony of the victim, there will be acquittals due to failure to provide proof
beyond reasonable doubt.
In a case which resulted in the conviction of the accused on three counts of

recruitment of minors for the purpose of sexual tracking,98 the court relied on the
testimonial evidence of a witness (who is not one of the complainants).99 In this
case however, several non-testimonial evidence were also presented by the
prosecution including evidence of receipt of marked money and surveillance tapes
which showed that the minor victims were under the control of the accused. While
mentioned in the courts decision, a closer reading reveals that the court only relied
on testimony of the eye-witness who saw the actual act of sexual tracking.
!
emphasize the totality of
circumstantial evidence in the
prosecutions theory of the
case
In almost all cases which resulted in the acquittal of the accused, the trial courts did
not find that there was guilt beyond reasonable doubt because of there was no
direct evidence tying the accused to the acts of tracking. Relevantly, Rule 133
Sec. 4 of the Revised Rules of Court, provides that circumstantial evidence is
96
CONST. (1987), Art. III, Sec. 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before
all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies. and Rep. Act. No. 8493 or the Speedy Trial Act of 1998.
97
People vs. Shin and Botor, Crim Case No. 10583, Sixth Judicial Region, Regional Trial Court, Branch 7,
Kalibo, Aklan.
People vs. Albert DJ Sanchez, RTC Branch 48-Manila, filed by the Crime Investigation and Detection Group of
the Philippine National Police and the International Justice Mission.
98
The witness stated under oath that he had personal knowledge of the acts of sexual exploitation done to the
male minor victims because the accused pimped the minor victims (including the witness, who did not file a
case against the accused) to foreign male clients.
99
67
sucient for conviction if (1) there is more than one circumstance; (2) the facts from
which the inferences are derived are proven; (3) the combination of all the
circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.
!
engage the city government,
specifically the office that
issues business permits, in the
fight against trafficking
Statistics gathered from the audit show that tracking in persons cases are
geographically concentrated on the top five cities (Pasay, Manila, Muntinlupa,
Mandaue and Zamboanga) and provinces (Pampanga, Samar, Quezon, Biliran and
Bukidnon). These areas are all urban centers with developed red light districts. City
governments will be especially helpful as their business permits oces annually
map business establishments within their jurisdiction. It is recommended that the
police and the Anti-Tracking Task Force work with the city government in mapping
and identifying establishments where tracking occurs, especially where illicit
commercial sex trade occurs.
!
there should be a
reinforcement during trainings
that if several laws apply to a
set of circumstances the
accused should be charged
under all these laws following
People vs. Lalli
It is specifically stated in the 2012 case of People vs. Lalli that double jeopardy does
not attach where one act is punished by several laws. As laid out in the section on
the Anti-Tracking Legal Framework of this report, it is not uncommon for a single
criminal act or transaction to constitute a number of dierent crimes. Charging a
suspected tracker under all possible applicable laws would allow the prosecution
to ensure that a suspected tracker is convicted and punished.
as 85% of trafficking victims

are women and children,
68
trafficking should be examined

under the lens of gender-based
violence
Statistics show that women and children are especially targeted by trackers and
thus are most vulnerable. A gender audit, and correction if necessary, of
government responders who have direct contact with the victims will go a long way
in the protection and reintegration of tracked victims.
!
!
the Supreme Court should

strictly implement its
confidentiality guidelines in
order to protect the identities of
trafficking victims
!
!
In all cases filed with the trial courts, names and other identifying information of the
victims are stated. In the two (2) cases on tracking decided by the Supreme Court,
one was a decision which stated the full name of the tracking victim.100 The other
one is a minute resolution which did not mention the name of the minor victims.
However in the same case, the names of the minor victims were explicitly stated in
the Court of Appeals decision which was publicly available on its website.101 The
Anti-Child Abuse Act,102 the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act103
and the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act104 uniformly feature provisions on
confidentiality as a measure to respect the dignity and protect the privacy of the
victims.
Cases involving violations of the Anti-Child Abuse Act and the Anti-Violence Against
Women Act withhold real names of the victims and their identifying information.
Fictitious initials are used in these cases to represent them in order to protect their
100
See People v. Lalli, G.R. No. 195419, 12 October 2011, 659 SCRA 105 (2011)
101
See People v. Ebarat, G.R. No. 203643, 10 April 2013 and People v. Ebarat, CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00912
102
See Section 29 of the Anti-Child Abuse Act
103
See Section 44 of the Anti-VAWC Act
104
See Sec. 7 of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act
69
identity and personal circumstances.105 Nonetheless, these cases still mention the
identifying information of family members, which in turn are used to identify the
identities of the victims.106
However, despite similar provisions on confidentiality under the Ant-Tracking in

Persons Act, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court in their pronouncements
in tracking cases continue to disclose the name and personal circumstances of
the victims in their publicly available decisions.
This is also despite the 2012 administrative issuance of the Supreme Court of A.M.
No. 12-7-15-SC which provides that the identity of tracking victims, among
others, should be kept confidential. Said issuance states in pertinent part:
a. These Guidelines shall cover decisions under R.A. No. 9262

(Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004),
R.A. No. 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse,
Exploitation and Discrimination Act) and R.A. No. 9208 (AntiTrafficking in Persons Act of 2003); and cases where the
confidentiality of the court proceedings and the identity of the
parties involved are mandated by law and/or by the rules in
order to protect the privacy and the dignity of the victims and
their relatives.
b. Decisions rendered by lower courts are likewise covered if
they are to be posted in the part of the Supreme Court's official
website openly accessible to the public.
c. The modification of the decisions shall extend to: (a) the
withholding of the names of the women and child victims in
covered decisions and the use of fictitious initials instead; and
See generally, Sanchez v. People, [588 SCRA 747, G.R. No. 179090 (2009)] (Other Acts of Child Abuse);
People v. Fitzgerald, [505 SCRA 573, G.R. No. 149723, (2006)] (Anti-Child Abuse Act); People v. Rentoria, 533
SCRA 708, G.R. No. 175333, 21 September 2007 (Qualified Rape, Anti-VAWC Act), People v. Gloria, 503 SCRA
74, G.R. No. 168476, 27 September 2006 (Rape, Acts of Lasciviousness, Anti-VAWC Act, Anti-Child Abuse Act),
People v. Veloso, 690 SCRA 586, G.R. No. 188849, 13 February 2013. (Rape, Anti-VAWC Act, Anti-Child Abuse
Act), People v. Mateo, 567 SCRA 244, G.R. No. 170569, 30 September 2008. (Rape, Anti-Child Abuse Act, AntiVAWC Act), De Castro v. Fernandez, 515 SCRA 682, G.R. No. 155041, 14 February 2007. (Sexual Assault, AntiChild Abuse Act, Anti-VAWC Act).See also Resolution in A.M. No. 04-11-09-SC dated September 19, 2006 or
the Rule on Violence Against Women and their Children which mandates that the Court shall use fictitious initials
in lieu of the real names of the victim/s and immediate family members other than the accused, and delete the
exact addresses of the victim to protect the privacy of the victim and their relatives.
105
As an example, in People vs. Cabalquinto, [502 SCRA 419, G.R. No. 167693 (2006)] the following statement
was made (O)n February 18, 2002, the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 87, convicted Melchor
Cabalquinto (Cabalquinto) on two (2) counts for the rape of his eight-year old daughter, AAA. Oddly, the
Cabalquinto case continues to be cited by the Supreme Court as precedent on the importance of ensuring the
confidentiality of the identity of child abuse and VAWC victims. See People vs. Reyes, [G.R. No. 173307 (2013)].
106
70
(b) the non-disclosure of their personal circumstances or any

other information tending to identify them or disclose their
identities, including the names and information of their
immediate family and household members, from which data the
identities of the victims can be inferred.
d. The modification of covered decisions shall only be made in
the part of the official website of the Supreme Court openly
accessible to the public. Decisions subject to modification shall
extend only to those published in the Supreme Court website
beginning 1996, the year of the earliest Supreme Court
decisions uploaded and made publicly accessible in the SC
website.
e. Modifications shall be made by the Public Information Office
(PIO). The PIO shall furnish a monthly list of modified decisions
to the SC Clerk of Court, the SC Library and the Office of the
Reporter.
The Office of the Court Administrator, through its Legal Office,
shall make the required modifications for lower court decisions
to be uploaded in the Supreme Court's official website. Covered
decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan shall
be modified by their respective Clerks of Court who shall
furnish a monthly list of these modified decisions to their
respective libraries, to the PIO and the SC Library.
f. Modification of covered decisions in the SC E-Library and
other SC sites which are accessible only by using a "username"
and "password" provided by the SC Library, shall be made by the
SC Library.
g.The SC Library, the other court libraries, the Clerks of Court of
the Court of Appeals and of the Sandiganbayan, and the Office
of the Court Reporter shall duly take note of the Guidelines and
the modified decisions, and shall not release to the public hard
copies of the original or unmodified decisions that have been
modified as provided under pars. (e) and (f) above;
xxx
The responsible court office and/or concerned court personnel
are STRICTLY ORDERED to follow the Guidelines. The Court may
impose administrative sanctions for non-compliance or for
failure to adopt adopt measures to comply with the provisions
of the Guidelines.
71
Correspondingly, it is recommended that the Supreme Court strictly implement its

confidentiality guidelines to ensure that the identity of tracking victims are
protected by:
(a) not disclosing of the names of the tracking victims in covered decisions and
mandate the use of fictitious initials instead;
(b) not disclosing the personal circumstances of tracking victims or any other
information tending to identify them or disclose their identities, including the
names and information of their immediate family.
(c) ensuring that these guidelines are disseminated, publicized and strictly
observed.
!
!
72
annex
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73
PEOPLE v. LALLI
G.R. No. 195419, 12 October 2011
659 SCRA 105 (2011)
SUMMARY:
In People v. Lalli, the Court found the three accused guilty of illegal tracking by a
syndicate and qualified tracking in personsboth oenses arose out of a single
set of facts. The Court held that when an act or acts violate two or more dierent
laws and constitute two dierent oenses, a prosecution under one will not bar a
prosecution under the other.
The Court increased the damages awarded to the victims, using the provisions of
the Civil Code on moral and exemplary damages.
!
PONENTE: Carpio, J.
!
PARTIES:
1. PETITIONER: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
2. RESPONDENTS: HADJA JARMA LALLI y PURIH, REYES and RONNIE

ARINGOY y MASION
NATURE: Filing of a consolidated criminal case for the crimes of Illegal Recruitment
and Tracking in Persons
!
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND: Appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeals
!
FACTS:
!
On June 4, 2005, AAA,107 23 years old, single, from Tumaga, Zamboanga City, was
invited by Ronnie Masion Aringoy (Ronnie) and Rachel Aringoy Canete (Rachel) to
work in Malaysia as a restaurant entertainer. She was told that all she needs is a
passport and she will be paid 500 Malaysian ringgits which is equivalent to
P7,000.00 pesos in Philippine currency.
On June 5, 2005, Ronnie went to see AAA and asked if the latter has a passport.
Having no passport and other necessary documents, AAA mentioned to Ronnie that
107
The names of the tracking victims are not disclosed in this report to protect their identity.
74
she will borrow her sisters passport. Ronnie introduced AAA to Hadja Jarma Lalli
(Lalli) who processed AAAs papers and was later on set to go to Malaysia with Lalli.
On June 6, 2005, AAA went to Zamboanga City to meet up with Lalli, Ronnie,
Honey and Michele. Ronnie gave AAA a boat ticket for the vessel M/V Mary Joy
bound for Sandakan, Malaysia, together with a passport in the name of Marife
Plando but with AAAs picture on it, and P1,000.00 in cash.
Upon arrival in Malaysia in the morning of June 7, 2005, AAA and her companions
were brought to the said restaurant which turned out to be a prostitution den. They
told Lalli that they do not like to work as prostitutes. They were later on transferred
to the Pipen Club owned by a Chinese Malay called Boss Awa, as their employer.
AAA was then forced to work as an entertainer and forced to have sexual
intercourse with customers at the Pipen Club.
AAA worked at Pipen Club from June 14 to July 8, 2005 having at least one or more
customers a night with whom she had sexual intercourse. On July 9, 2005, AAA was
able to contact her sister, who is married to an Indonesian national, through
cellphone who is staying at Sipangkot Felda. AAA begged her sister to save her
because she was sold as a prostitute. Her sister told AAA that her husband is going
to the Pipen Club to fetch AAA at 9:00 oclock in the evening that day. She told
Janet to instruct her husband to ask for No. 60 at the Club. At around 9:00 in the
evening, Daddy Richard, one of the bosses at the club, told AAA that a customer
requested No. 60 which turned out to be AAAs sisters husband. They both left the
place and stayed at her sisters house until July 22, 2005.
On July 22, AAA boarded a speedboat to Sibuto, Tawi-Tawi. AAA filed a complaint
before the Zamboanga Police Oce at Gov. Lim Avenue on August 2, 2005.
ISSUE: Whether or not Lalli and her co-accused are guilty of Syndicated Illegal
Recruitment.
!
ANSWER: Yes.
!
SUPREME COURT RULING:
!
Illegal Recruitment by a Syndicate
!
Given the broad definition of recruitment and placement, even the mere act of
referring someone for placement abroad can be considered recruitment. Such act of
referral, in connivance with someone without the requisite authority or Philippine
75
Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) license, constitutes illegal recruitment. In its

simplest terms, illegal recruitment is committed by persons who, without authority
from the government, give the impression that they have the power to send workers
abroad for employment purposes.
In this case, the trial court, as armed by the appellate court, found Lalli, Aringoy
and Relampagos to have conspired and confederated with one another to recruit
and place AAA for work in Malaysia, without a POEA license. The three elements of
syndicated illegal recruitment are present in this case, in particular: (1) the accused
have no valid license or authority required by law to enable them to lawfully engage
in the recruitment and placement of workers; (2) the accused engaged in this
activity of recruitment and placement by actually recruiting, deploying and
transporting AAA to Malaysia; and (3) illegal recruitment was committed by three
persons (Aringoy, Lalli and Relampagos), conspiring and confederating with one
another.
!
Tracking in Persons
!
Tracking in Persons under Sections 3(a)108 and 4 (a)109 of RA 9208 is not only
limited to transportation of victims, but also includes the act of recruitment of
victims for tracking. In this case, since it has been suciently proven beyond
reasonable doubt, as discussed in the Illegal Recruitment case that all the three
accused (Aringoy, Lalli and Relampagos) conspired and confederated with one
another to illegally recruit AAA to become a prostitute in Malaysia, it follows that
they are also guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Qualified Tracking in
Persons committed by a syndicate under RA 9208 because the crime of recruitment
for prostitution also constitutes tracking.
When an act or acts violate two or more dierent laws and constitute two dierent
oenses, a prosecution under one will not bar a prosecution under the other. The
constitutional right against double jeopardy only applies to risk of punishment twice
Tracking in Personsrefers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons

with or without the victims consent or knowledge, within or across national borders by means of 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 for the purpose of 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. x x x (Emphasis supplied)
108
To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including those done under
the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution,
pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.
109
76
for the same oense, or for an act punished by a law and an ordinance. The
prohibition on double jeopardy does not apply to an act or series of acts
constituting dierent oenses.
!
Payment of Damages
!
The Court modified the payment of damages in the crime of Tracking in Persons
from P50,000 to P500,000 as moral damages and P50,000 to P100,000 as
exemplary damages.
The criminal case of Tracking in Persons as a Prostitute is an analogous case to

the crimes of seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious acts.110 In fact, it is
worse. To be tracked as a prostitute without ones consent and to be sexually
violated four to five times a day by dierent strangers is horrendous and atrocious.
There is no doubt that AAA experienced physical suering, mental anguish, fright,
serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, and social
humiliation when she was tracked as a prostitute in Malaysia. Since the crime of
Tracking in Persons was aggravated, being committed by a syndicate, the award
of exemplary damages111 is likewise justified.
!
!
DISPOSITIVE:
In disposing of the case, the Supreme Court issued the following directives:
110
Art.2219.Moral damages may be recovered in the following and analogous cases:

(1)A criminal oense resulting in physical injuries;

(2)Quasi-delicts causing physical injuries;

(3)Seduction, abduction, rape, or other lascivious acts;

(4)Adultery or concubinage;

(5)Illegal or arbitrary detention or arrest;

(6)Illegal search;

(7)Libel, slander or any other form of defamation;

(8)Malicious prosecution;

(9)Acts mentioned in Article 309;

(10)Acts and actions referred to in Articles 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, and 35.

The parents of the female seduced, abducted, raped, or abused, referred to in No. 3 of this article, may
also recover moral damages.

The spouse, descendants, ascendants, and brothers and sisters may bring the action mentioned in No.
9 of this article, in the order named.
Art.2230.In criminal oenses, exemplary damages as a part of the civil liability may be imposed when the
crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. Such damages are separate and distinct
from fines and shall be paid to the oended party.
111
77
(1) MODIFIED, In Criminal Case No. 21908, that each of the accused is sentenced
to suer the penalty of LIFE IMPRISONMENT and to pay a fine of P2,000,000;
(2) MODIFIED, In Criminal Case No. 21930, that each of the accused is sentenced
to suer the penalty of LIFE IMPRISONMENT and to pay a fine of P500,000;
(3) MODIFIED that each of the accused is ordered to pay the oended party AAA
Plando y Sagadsad, jointly and severally, the sum of P500,000 as moral damages,
and P100,000 as exemplary damages for the crime of Tracking in Persons; and to
pay the costs.
(4) AFFIRMING the Decision of the Court of Appeals dated 26 February 2013,
arming the Decision of the Regional Trial Court of Zamboanga City dated 29
November 2005.
The Court cannot pronounce the liability of accused-at-large Nestor Relampagos as

jurisdiction over his person has not been acquired.
!
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78
PEOPLE v. PANSACALA
G.R. No. 194255, 13 June 2012
672 SCRA 549 (2012)
SUMMARY:
In People v. Pansacala, Supreme Court found the accused guilty of illegal
recruitment committed by a syndicate. While the law applied was the Migrant
Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 and the Civil Code of the Phillippines,
the Court used the policy behind the Anti-Tracking in Persons Act as basis to
increase the award of damages.
!
PONENTE: Sereno, J.
!
PARTIES:
3. PETITIONER: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
4. RESPONDENTS: NURFRASIR HASHIM y SARABAN a.k.a FRANZ/FRANS,

MAKDUL JAMAD y BUKIN (AL) a.k.a. MACKY, a certain TAS, and a
certain JUN,, BERNADETTE PANSACALA a.k.a. Neneng Awid,.
NATURE: Filing of a criminal case for the crime of Illegal Recruitment (Section 6 in
relation to Section 7 (b) of Republic Act. No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and
Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995)
!
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND: Appeal from a Decision of the Court of Appeals
!
!
FACTS:
!
On 10 June 2003, Bernadette Pansacala a.k.a. Neneg Awid (accused) approached

AAA, a waitress at a stall in Paseo de Zamboanga, Buenavista, Zamboanga City,
and encouraged her to work in Malaysia. AAA agreed.
On 11 June 2003, the next day, the accused visited the house of BBB, a private
complainant, and invited her to work as a saleslady in Brunei which was accepted
by BBB.
79
The following day, the accused, together with co-accused Makdul Amad (Macky)
and a certain Jun, returned to BBBs house and informed the latter that she will be
escorted with two other men to Malaysia the next day 1:00 p.m.
On 13 June 2003, BBB, accused, Macky and Jun met with AAA, and a certain CCC
at Paseo de Zamboanga and later on boarded the M/V Grand Flora bound for
Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. The accused informed private complainants and their
companions that she would follow and bring their passports.
On 18 June 2003, they arrived in Labuan, Malaysia and stayed at the Classic
Hotel from June 18, 2003 to June 20, 2003. Upon arrival at Cape Imperial located
at Labuan, Malaysia, the accused talked to one Bunso but failed to come up with
an agreement on the compensation of the four girls. The accused brought the girls
to Golden Lotus Barber Salon owned by a certain person named Mommy Cindy.
From 21 June 2003 to 13 July 2003, private complainants were forced to become
sex workers to earn money and pay the debts they incurred from their travel from
Zamboanga City to Labuan, Malaysia.
On 22 July 2003, BBB had a customer who was a law enforcer at Kota Kinabalu,
Malaysia to which she sought his help for her return to the Philippines, and the latter
agreed. The next day, the Golden Lotus was raided by the Immigration Ocers of
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia which caused the deportation to the Philippines of several
prostituted Filipino women, including private complainants.
ISSUE: Whether or not the accused-appellant Pansacala and other co-accused

conspired in committing and are guilty of Syndicated Illegal Recruitment.
!
ANSWER: Yes.
!
SUPREME COURT RULING:
!
To be convicted of the crime of illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate, the

following elements must occur:
1. The accused has no valid license or authority required by law to enable them
to lawfully engage in the recruitment and placement of workers.
2. The accused engaged in this activity of recruitment and placement by

actually recruiting, deploying and transporting.
3. Illegal recruitment was committed by three persons conspiring and

confederating with one another.
80
Clearly, it was established beyond reasonable doubt that accused-appellant,

together with at least two other persons, came to an agreement to commit the
felony and decided to commit it. It is not necessary to show that two or more
persons met together and entered into an explicit agreement laying down the details
of how an unlawful scheme or objective is to be carried out. Conspiracy may be
deduced from the mode and manner in which the oense was perpetrated; or from
the acts of the accused evincing a joint or common purpose and design, concerted
action and community of interest.
In meting out the penalty, the Court modified the amount of moral and exemplary
damages awarded by the CA.
In People v. Lalli,112 the Court increased the amount of moral and exemplary
damages from P50,000 to P500,000 and from P50,000 to P100,000, respectively,
having convicted the accused therein of the crime of tracking in persons.
!
The Court reasoned in Lalli as follows:
The criminal case of Tracking in Persons as a Prostitute is an

analogous case to the crimes of seduction, abduction, rape, or
other lascivious acts. In fact, it is worse. To be tracked as a
prostitute without ones consent and to be sexually violated four
to five times a day by dierent strangers is horrendous and
atrocious. There is no doubt that Lolita experienced physical
suering, mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, besmirched
reputation, wounded feelings, moral shock, and social humiliation
when she was tracked as a prostitute in Malaysia. Since the
crime of Tracking in Persons was aggravated, being committed by a
syndicate, the award of exemplary damages is likewise
justified. (Emphasis supplied.)
The Supreme Court found no legal impediment to increasing the award of moral and
exemplary damages in the case at bar. It reasoned that it should not dierentiate
between the victims herein and those in Lalli case, when the circumstances are
frighteningly similar. To do so would be to say that the Court would discriminate
one from the other, when all of these women have been the victims of unscrupulous
people who capitalized on the poverty of others. While it is true that accused112
G.R. No. 195419, 12 October 2011, 659 SCRA 105
81
appellant was not tried and convicted of the crime of tracking in persons, this
Court based its award of damages on the Civil Code, and not on the Anti-Tracking
in Persons Act, as clearly explained in Lalli.
!
In disposing of the case, the Supreme Court issued the following directives:
(1) AFFRIMED with MODIFICATIONS the Decision of the Court of Appeals in CAG.R. CR-HC No. 00644-MIN dated 20 July 2010;
(2) ORDERED the accused-appellant Bernadette Pansacal a.k.a. Neneng Awid to

pay AAA and BBB the sum of P500,000 each as moral damages;
(3) ORDERED the accused-appellant Bernadette Pansacal a.k.a. Neneng Awid to

pay AAA and BBB the sum of P100,000 each as exemplary damages and to pay the
costs.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
82
!
!
PEOPLE v. EBARAT
G.R. No. 203643, 10 April 2013
In People v. Ebarat, the Supreme Court found in a minute

resolution that there was no reversible error committed by
the Court of Appeals to warrant the exercise of the Courts
appellate jurisdiction.
PONENTE: There is no ponente as this is a minute resolution.
PARTIES:

PETITIONER: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES

RESPONDENTS: JenniferEbaratyDeega,a.k.a. Jennifer DeegayGolez
NATURE: Filing of a criminal case for the crimes of Illegal Recruitment and Tracking in
Persons
!
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND: Appeal from a Decision of the Court of Appeals
!
FACTS:
No facts were stated in the Minute Resolution of the Court.113
DISPOSITIVE:
After a judicious perusal of the records, the Court resolves to DISMISS the appeal for
failure to suciently show any reversible error in the assailed Decision as to warrant the
exercise of the Court's appellate jurisdiction.
WHEREFORE, the Court ADOPTS the findings of fact and conclusions of law in the July
31, 2012 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00912 and AFFIRMS
said Decision in toto finding appellant Jennifer Ebarat y Denega a.k.a. Jennifer Denega y
113
Facts Stated in the Decision of the Court of Appeals CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 00912:
On February 4, 2007, Jennifer Ebarat (accused), convinced AAA, aged 9, BBB, aged 7, CCC, aged 6,
DDD aged 7, and EEE aged 5, who were playing in the plaza at Barangay Barra, Opol, Misamis
Oriental, to go with her at Cagayan de Oro City to eat at Jollibee and enticed the children to eat fruits at
her house.
Without asking permission from the childrens parents, the accused made the children board a trisikad
and subsequently rode a passenger jeepney bound to Cagayan de Oro City. The accused instructed
them to beg for money from people in the streets and houses around the Macabalan area. The children
gave to the accused all they have begged.
!
!
[The names of the tracking victims are not disclosed in this report to protect their identity.]
83
regions of the philippines

Golez guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the oense of Qualified Tracking in Persons as
defined and penalized in Republic Act No. 9208 and sentencing her to suer the penalty of
life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P2,000,000.00.
84
Region
Regional Capital
NCR (National Capital

Region)
Manila
CAR (Cordillera
Administrative Region)
Baguio
Region I (Ilocos
Region)
San Fernando (La

Union)
Region II (Cagaya
Valley)
Tuguegarao
Region III (Central

Luzon)
San Fernando
(Pampangga)
Region IV-A
(CALABARZON)
Calamba
Component Local
Government Units
Caloocan City
Las Pias City
Makati City
Malabon City
Mandaluyong City
Manila City
Marikina City
Muntinlupa City
Navotas City
Paraaque City
Pasay City
Pasig City
Pateros Municipality
Quezon City
San Juan City
Taguig City
Valenzuela City
Abra
Apayao
Benguet
Ifugao
Kalinga
Mountain Province
Ilocos Norte
Ilocos Sur
La Union
Pangasinan
Batanes
Cagayan
Isabela
Nueva Vizcaya
Quirino
Aurora
Bataan
Bulacan
Nueva Ecija
Pampanga
Tarlac
Zambales
Batangas
Cavite
Laguna
Quezon
Rizal
Independent Cities or
Highly Urbanized
Independent Cities
All cities in the NCR
are highly urbanized
cities, with the
exception of Pateros
which is a
Municipality.
Santiago City
(Independent City)
Angeles City
Olongapo City
Lucena City
85
Region IV-B
(MIMAROPA)
Calapan
Region V (Bicol
Region)
Legazpi
Region VI (Western
Visayas)
Iloilo City
Region VII (Central

Visayas)
Cebu City
Region VIII (Eastern

Visayas)
Tacloban
Region IX
(Zamboanga
Peninsula)
Pagadian
Region X (Northern
Mindanao)
Cagayan de Oro
Region XI (Davao
Region)
Davao City
Region XII
(SOCCSKSARGEN)
Koronadal
Marinduque
Occidental Mindoro
Oriental Mindoro
Palawan
Romblon
Albay
Camarines Norte
Camarines Sur
Catanduanes
Masbate
Sorsogon
Aklan
Antique
Capiz
Guimaras
Iloilo
Negros Occidental
Bohol
Cebu
Negros Oriental
Siquijor
Biliran
Eastern Samar
Leyte
Northern Samar
Samar
Southern Leyte
Isabela City (As
excluded from
Basilan, which is part
of ARMM)
Zamboanga del Norte
Zamboanga del Sur
Zamboanga Sibugay
Bukidnon
Camiguin
Lanao del Norte
Misamis Occidental
Misamis Oriental
Compostela Valley
Davao del Norte
Davao del Sur
Davao Oriental
Davao Occidental
Cotabato
Sarangani
South Cotabato
Sultan Kudarat
Puerto Princesa City
Naga City
(Independent City)
Bacolod City
Iloilo City
Ormoc City
(Independent City)
Tacloban City
Zamboanga City
Cagayan de Oro City
Iligan City
Davao City
86
Region XIII (CARAGA)
Butuan
Agusan del Norte
Agusan del Sur
Dinagat Islands
Surigao del Norte
Surigao del Sur
Butuan City
87
anti-tracking in persons act of 2003
AN ACT TO INSTITUTE POLICIES TO ELIMINATE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

ESPECIALLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ESTABLISHING THE NECESSARY
INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS FOR THE PROTECTION AND SUPPORT OF
TRAFFICKED PERSONS, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR ITS VIOLATIONS, AND FOR
OTHER
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:
Section 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Tracking in Persons Act of
2003".
Section 2.Declaration of Policy. It is hereby declared that the State values the dignity
of every human person and guarantees the respect of individual rights. In pursuit of this
policy, the State shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures and
development of programs that will promote human dignity, protect the people from any
threat of violence and exploitation, eliminate tracking in persons, and mitigate
pressures for involuntary migration and servitude of persons, not only to support
tracked persons but more importantly, to ensure their recovery, rehabilitation and
reintegration into the mainstream of society.
It shall be a State policy to recognize the equal rights and inherent human dignity of
women and men as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human
Rights, United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations
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 Tracking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and all
other relevant and universally accepted human rights instruments and other international
conventions to which the Philippines is a signatory. [As amended by Section 2 of R.A.
10364]
Section 3.Definition of Terms. As used in this Act:
(a)Tracking in Persons refers to the recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing,

oering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons
with or without the victims consent or knowledge, within or across national
borders by means of 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 for the
purpose of 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.
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, adoption or receipt of a child

for the purpose of exploitation or when the adoption is induced by any form of
consideration for exploitative purposes shall also be considered as tracking in
persons even if it does not involve any of the means set forth in the preceding
paragraph.
(b)Child refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or one who is over
eighteen (18) but is unable to fully take care of or protect himself/herself from
abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of a physical or
mental disability or condition.
88
(c) Prostitution refers to any act, transaction, scheme or design involving the
use of a person by another, for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct in
exchange for money, profit or any other consideration.
(d)Forced Labor refers to the extraction of work or services from any person by
means of enticement, violence, intimidation or threat, use of, force or coercion,
including deprivation of freedom, abuse of authority or moral ascendancy, debtbondage or deception including any work or service extracted from any person
under the menace of penalty.
(e)Slavery refers to the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of
the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.
(f) Involuntary Servitude refers to a condition of enforced and compulsory

service induced by means of any scheme, plan or pattern, intended to cause a
person to believe that if he or she did not enter into or continue in such
condition, he or she or another person would suer serious harm or other forms
of abuse or physical restraint, or threat of abuse or harm, or coercion including
depriving access to travel documents and withholding salaries, or the abuse or
threatened abuse of the legal process.
(g) Sex Tourism refers to a program organized by travel and tourism-related

establishments and individuals which consists of tourism packages or activities,
utilizing and oering escort and sexual services as enticement for tourists. This
includes sexual services and practices oered during rest and recreation periods
for members of the military.
(h) Sexual Exploitation refers to participation by a person in prostitution,

pornography or the production of pornography, in exchange for money, profit or
any other consideration or where the participation is caused or facilitated by any
means of intimidation or threat, use of force, or other forms of coercion,
abduction, fraud, deception, debt bondage, abuse of power or of position or of
legal process, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or giving or
receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having
control over another person; or in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct
caused or facilitated by any means as provided in this Act.
(i) Debt Bondage refers to the pledging by the debtor of his/her personal
services or labor or those of a person under his/her control as security or
payment for a debt, when the length and nature of services is not clearly defined
or when the value of the services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward
the liquidation of the debt.
(j) Pornography refers to any representation, through publication, exhibition,

cinematography, indecent shows, information technology, or by whatever means,
of a person engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any
representation of the sexual parts of a person for primarily sexual purposes.
(k) Council shall mean the Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking created
under Section 20 of this Act. [As amended by Section 3 of R.A. 10364]
Section 4.Acts of Tracking in Persons. It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or
juridical, to commit any of the following acts:
(a) To recruit, obtain, hire, provide, oer, transport, transfer, maintain, harbor, or
receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of
domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose
of 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 Republic Act No. 6955, any
Filipino woman to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose of acquiring,
89
buying, oering, selling or trading him/her to engage in prostitution,

pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or
debt bondage;
(c) To oer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring,
buying, oering, 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 oering 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 the purpose of prostitution,
pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or
debt bondage;
(h) To recruit, hire, adopt, transport, transfer, obtain, harbor, maintain, provide,
oer, receive or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud,
deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of
organs of said person;
(i) To recruit, transport, obtain, transfer, harbor, maintain, oer, 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, oer, 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 suer 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, oer, 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. Tracking for purposes of exploitation of
children shall include:
(1) All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, involuntary

servitude, debt bondage and forced labor, including recruitment of
children for use in armed conflict;
(2) The use, procuring or oering of a child for prostitution, for the
production of pornography, or for pornographic performances;
(3) The use, procuring or oering of a child for the production and
tracking of drugs; and
(4) The use, procuring or oering 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; and
(l) To organize or direct other persons to commit the oenses defined as acts of
tracking under this Act. [As amended by Section 4 of R.A. 10364]
90
Section 4-A. Attempted Tracking in Persons. Where there are acts to initiate the
commission of a tracking oense but the oender failed to or did not execute all the
elements of the crime, by accident or by reason of some cause other than voluntary
desistance, such overt acts shall be deemed as an attempt to commit an act of
tracking in persons. As such, an attempt to commit any of the oenses enumerated in
Section 4 of this Act shall constitute attempted tracking in persons.
In cases where the victim is a child, any of the following acts shall also be deemed as
attempted tracking in persons:
(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 childs parent or legal guardian;
(b) Executing, for a consideration, an adavit 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) Soliciting 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. [As
amended by Section 5 of R.A. 10364]
Section 4-B.Accomplice Liability. Whoever knowingly aids, abets, cooperates in the

execution of the oense by previous or simultaneous acts defined in this Act shall be
punished in accordance with the provisions of Section 10(c) of this Act. [As amended by
Section 6 of R.A. 10364]
Section 4-C. Accessories. Whoever has the knowledge of the commission of the
crime, and without having participated therein, either as principal or as accomplices,
take part in its commission in any of the following manners:
crime;
(a) By profiting themselves or assisting the oender to profit by the eects of the
(b) By concealing or destroying the body of the crime or eects or instruments
thereof, in order to prevent its discovery;
(c) By harboring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the

crime, provided the accessory acts with abuse of his or her public functions or is
known to be habitually guilty of some other crime.
Acts defined in this provision shall be punished in accordance with the provision of
Section 10(d) as stated thereto. [As amended by Section 7 of R.A. 10364]
Section 5.Acts that Promote Tracking in Persons.- The following acts which promote
or facilitate tracking in persons, shall be unlawful:
(a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow to be used any house, building
or establishment for the purpose of promoting tracking 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 which issues these certificates,
decals and such other markers as proof of compliance with government
regulatory and pre-departure requirements for the purpose of promoting
tracking in persons; [As amended by Section 8 of R.A. 10364]
(c) To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or cause the

advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting or distribution by any means,
91
including the use of information technology and the internet, of any brochure,
flyer, or any propaganda material that promotes tracking 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 tracking 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 are in
possession of unissued, tampered or fraudulent travel documents for the
purpose of promoting tracking in persons;
(f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents, or personal

documents or belongings of tracked persons in furtherance of tracking or to
prevent them from leaving the country or seeking redress from the government
or appropriate agencies; and
(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; [As amended by Section 8 of R.A. 10364]
(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 in order to prevent or restrict,
or attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the persons liberty to
move or travel in order to maintain the labor or services of that person; or [As
(j) To utilize his or her oce to impede the investigation, prosecution or execution
of lawful orders in a case under this Act. [As amended by Section 8 of R.A.
10364]
Section 6.Qualified Tracking in Persons. Violations of Section 4 of this Act shall be

considered as qualified tracking: [As amended by Section 9 of R.A. 10364]
(a) When the tracked person is a child;
(b) When the adoption is eected 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,
(c) When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale. Tracking 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 oender is a spouse, an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a

person who exercises authority over the tracked person or when the oense is
committed by a public ocer or employee; [As amended by Section 9 of R.A.
10364]
(e) When the tracked person is recruited to engage in prostitution with any
member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
(f) When the oender is a member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
[As amended by Section 9 of R.A. 10364]
92
(g) When by reason or on occasion of the act of tracking in persons, the

oended party dies, becomes insane, suers mutilation or is aicted with
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS)
(h) When the oender 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 [As
(i) When the oender directs or through another manages the tracking victim in
carrying out the exploitative purpose of tracking. [As amended by Section 9 of
R.A. 10364]
Section 7. Confidentiality. At any stage of the investigation, rescue, prosecution and

trial of an oense under this Act, law enforcement ocers, prosecutors, judges, court
personnel, social workers and medical practitioners, as well as parties to the case, shall
protect the right to privacy of the tracked person. Towards this end, law enforcement
ocers, prosecutors and judges to whom the complaint has been referred may,
whenever necessary to ensure a fair and impartial proceeding, and after considering all
circumstances for the best interest of the parties, order a closed-door investigation,
prosecution or trial. The name and personal circumstances of the tracked person or
any other information tending to establish the identity of the tracked person and his or
her family shall not be disclosed to the public.
It shall be unlawful for any editor, publisher, and reporter or columnist in case of printed
materials, announcer or producer in case of television and radio, producer and director
of a film in case of the movie industry, or any person utilizing tri-media facilities or
electronic information technology to cause publicity of the name, personal
circumstances, or any information tending to establish the identity of the tracked
person except when the tracked person in a written statement duly notarized
knowingly, voluntarily and willingly waives said confidentiality.
Law enforcement ocers, prosecutors, judges, court personnel, social workers and
medical practitioners shall be trained on the importance of maintaining confidentiality as
a means to protect the right to privacy of victims and to encourage victims to file
complaints. [As amended by Section 10 of R.A. 10364]
Section 8.Initiation and Prosecution of Cases.
(a)Initiation of Investigation. Law enforcement agencies are mandated to immediately

initiate investigation and counter-tracking-intelligence gathering upon receipt of
statements or adavit from victims of tracking, migrant workers, or their families who
are in possession of knowledge or information about tracking in persons cases.
(b)Prosecution of Cases. Any person who has personal knowledge of the commission
of any oense under this Act, such as the tracked person, the parents, spouse,
siblings, children or legal guardian may file a complaint for tracking.
(c) Adavit of Desistance. Cases involving tracking in persons should not be

dismissed based on the adavit of desistance executed by the victims or their parents
or legal guardians. Public and private prosecutors are directed to oppose and manifest
objections to motions for dismissal.
Any act involving the means provided in this Act or any attempt thereof for the purpose
of securing an Adavit of Desistance from the complainant shall be punishable under
this Act. [As amended by Section 11 of R.A. 10364]
Section 9. Venue. - A criminal action arising from violation of this Act shall be filed
where the oense was committed, or where any of its elements occurred, or where the
tracked person actually resides at the time of the commission of the oense:Provided,
That the court where the criminal action is first filed shall acquire jurisdiction to the
exclusion of other courts.
93
Section 10.Penalties and Sanctions. The following penalties and sanctions are hereby
established for the oenses enumerated in this Act:
(a) Any person found guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated in Section
4 shall suer the penalty of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a fine of not
less than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not more than Two million pesos
(P2,000,000.00);
(b) Any person found guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated in Section
4-A of this Act shall suer the penalty of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years and a
fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) but not more
than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00);
(c) Any person found guilty of Section 4-B of this Act shall suer the penalty of
imprisonment of fifteen (15) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred
thousand pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00);
In every case, conviction shall cause and carry the automatic revocation of the
license or registration of the recruitment agency involved in tracking. The
license of a recruitment agency which tracked a child shall be automatically
revoked.
(d) Any person found, guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated in Section
5 shall suer the penalty of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years and a fine of not
less than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One
million pesos (P1,000,000.00);
(e) Any person found guilty of qualified tracking under Section 6 shall suer the
penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than Two million pesos
(P2,000,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00);
(f) Any person who violates Section 7 hereof shall suer the penalty of
imprisonment of six (6) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand
pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00);
(g) If the oender is a corporation, partnership, association, club, establishment

or any juridical person, the penalty shall be imposed upon the owner, president,
partner, manager, and/or any responsible ocer who participated in the
commission of the crime or who shall have knowingly permitted or failed to
prevent its commission;
(h) The registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and
license to operate of the erring agency, corporation, association, religious group,
tour or travel agent, club or establishment, or any place of entertainment shall be
cancelled and revoked permanently. The owner, president, partner or manager
thereof shall not be allowed to operate similar establishments in a dierent name;
(i) If the oender is a foreigner, he or she shall be immediately deported after

serving his or her sentence and be barred permanently from entering the
country;
(j) Any employee or ocial of government agencies who shall issue or approve
the issuance of travel exit clearances, passports, registration certificates,
counseling certificates, marriage license, and other similar documents to
persons, whether juridical or natural, recruitment agencies, establishments or
other individuals or groups, who fail to observe the prescribed procedures and
the requirement as provided for by laws, rules and regulations, shall be held
administratively liable, without prejudice to criminal liability under this Act. The
concerned government ocial or employee shall, upon conviction, be dismissed
from the service and be barred permanently to hold public oce. His or her
retirement and other benefits shall likewise be forfeited; and
94
(k) Conviction, by final judgment of the adopter for any oense under this Act
shall result in the immediate rescission of the decree of adoption. [As amended
by Section 12 of R.A. 10364]
Section 11.Use of Tracked Persons. Any person who buys or engages the services
of a tracked person for prostitution shall be penalized with the
following: Provided, That the Probation Law (Presidential Decree No. 968) shall not
apply:
(a)Prision Correccionalin its maximum period toprision mayoror six (6) years to
twelve (12) years imprisonment and a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos
( P 5 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 ) b u t n o t m o re t h a n O n e h u n d re d t h o u s a n d p e s o s
(P100,000.00): Provided, however, That the following acts shall be exempted
thereto:
(1) If an oense under paragraph (a) involves sexual intercourse or

lascivious conduct with a child, the penalty shall bereclusion temporalin
its medium period to reclusion perpetua or seventeen (17) years to forty
(40) years imprisonment and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand
pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00);
(2) If an oense under paragraph (a) involves carnal knowledge of, or

sexual intercourse with, a male or female tracking victim and also
involves the use of force or intimidation, to a victim deprived of reason or
to an unconscious victim, or a victim under twelve (12) years of age,
instead of the penalty prescribed in the subparagraph above the penalty
shall be a fine of not less than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not
more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) and imprisonment
ofreclusionperpetuaor forty (40) years imprisonment with no possibility of
parole; except that if a person violating paragraph (a) of this section
knows the person that provided prostitution services is in fact a victim of
tracking, the oender shall not be likewise penalized under this section
but under Section 10 as a person violating Section 4; and if in committing
such an oense, the oender also knows a qualifying circumstance for
tracking, the oender shall be penalized under Section 10 for qualified
tracking. If in violating this section the oender also violates Section 4,
the oender shall be penalized under Section 10 and, if applicable, for
qualified tracking instead of under this section;
(b)Deportation. If a foreigner commits any oense described by paragraph (1)

or (2) of this section or violates any pertinent provision of this Act as an
accomplice or accessory to, or by attempting any such oense, he or she shall
be immediately deported after serving his or her sentence and be barred
permanently from entering the country; and
(c) Public Ocial. If the oender is a public ocial, he or she shall be

dismissed from service and shall suer perpetual absolute disqualification to
hold public, oce, in addition to any imprisonment or fine received pursuant to
any other provision of this Act. [As amended by Section 13 of R.A. 10364]
Section 12.Prescriptive Period. Tracking cases under this Act shall prescribe in ten
(10) years: Provided, however, That tracking cases committed by a syndicate or in a
large scale as defined under Section 6, or against a child, shall prescribe in twenty (20)
years.
The prescriptive period shall commence to run from the day on which the tracked
person is delivered or released from the conditions of bondage, or in the case of a child
victim, from the day the child reaches the age of majority, and shall be interrupted by the
filing of the complaint or information and shall commence to run again when the
proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted or are
95
unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to the accused. [As amended by
Section 13. Exemption from Filing Fees. - When the tracked person institutes a
separate civil action for the recovery of civil damages, he/she shall be exempt from the
payment of filing fees.
Section 14.Confiscation and Forfeiture of the Proceeds and Instruments Derived from
Tracking in Persons. - In addition to the penalty imposed for the violation of this Act,
the court shall order the confiscation and forfeiture, in favor of the government, of all the
proceeds and properties derived from the commission of the crime, unless they are the
property of a third person not liable for the unlawful act; Provided, however, That all
awards for damages shall be taken from the personal and separate properties of the
oender;Provided, further,That if such properties are insucient, the balance shall be
taken from the confiscated and forfeited properties.
When the proceeds, properties and instruments of the oense have been destroyed,
diminished in value or otherwise rendered worthless by any act or omission, directly or
indirectly, of the oender, or it has been concealed, removed, converted or transferred
to prevent the same from being found or to avoid forfeiture or confiscation, the oender
shall be ordered to pay the amount equal to the value of the proceeds, property or
instruments of the oense.
Section 15. Trust Fund. - All fines imposed under this Act and the proceeds and
properties forfeited and confiscated pursuant to Section 14 hereof shall accrue to a
Trust Fund to be administered and managed by the Council to be used exclusively for
programs that will prevent acts of tracking and protect, rehabilitate, reintegrate
tracked persons into the mainstream of society. Such programs shall include, but not
limited to, the following:
(a) Provision for mandatory services set forth in Section 23 of this Act;
(b) Sponsorship of a national research program on tracking and establishment

of a data collection system for monitoring and evaluation purposes;
(c) Provision of necessary technical and material support services to appropriate

government agencies and non-government organizations (NGOs);
(d) Sponsorship of conferences and seminars to provide venue for consensus

building amongst the public, the academe, government, NGOs and international
organizations; and
(e) Promotion of information and education campaign on tracking.
Section 16. Programs that Address Tracking in Persons. The government shall
establish and implement preventive, protective and rehabilitative programs for tracked
persons. For this purpose, the following agencies are hereby mandated to implement
the following programs:
(a) Department of Foreign Aairs (DFA) shall make available its resources and
facilities overseas for tracked persons regardless of their manner of entry to the
receiving country, and explore means to further enhance its assistance in
eliminating tracking activities through closer networking with government
agencies in the country and overseas, particularly in the formulation of policies
and implementation of relevant programs. It shall provide Filipino victims of
tracking overseas with free legal assistance and counsel to pursue legal action
against his or her trackers, represent his or her interests in any criminal
investigation or prosecution, and assist in the application for social benefits and/
or regular immigration status as may be allowed or provided for by the host
country. The DFA shall repatriate tracked Filipinos with the consent of the
victims.
96
The DFA shall take necessary measures for the ecient implementation of the
Electronic Passporting System to protect the integrity of Philippine passports,
visas and other travel documents to reduce the incidence of tracking through
the use of fraudulent identification documents.
In coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment, it shall provide

free temporary shelters and other services to Filipino victims of tracking
overseas through the migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos resource
centers established overseas under Republic Act No. 8042, as amended.
(b) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall implement

rehabilitative and protective programs for tracked persons. It shall provide
counseling and temporary shelter to tracked persons and develop a system for
accreditation among NGOs for purposes of establishing centers and programs
for intervention in various levels of the community. It shall establish free
temporary shelters, for the protection and housing of tracked persons to
provide the following basic services to tracked persons:
(1) Temporary housing and food facilities;
(2) Psychological support and counseling;
(3) 24-hour call center for crisis calls and technology-based counseling
and referral system;
(4) Coordination with local law enforcement entities; and
(5) Coordination with the Department of Justice, among others.
The DSWD must conduct information campaigns in communities and schools

teaching parents and families that receiving consideration in exchange for
adoption is punishable under the law. Furthermore, information campaigns must
be conducted with the police that they must not induce poor women to give their
children up for adoption in exchange for consideration.
(c) Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall ensure the strict
implementation and compliance with the rules and guidelines relative to the
employment of persons locally and overseas. It shall likewise monitor, document
and report cases of tracking in persons involving employers and labor
recruiters.
(d) Department of Justice (DOJ) shall ensure the prosecution of persons

accused of tracking and designate and train special prosecutors who shall
handle and prosecute cases of tracking. It shall also establish a mechanism for
free legal assistance for tracked persons, in coordination with the DSWD,
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and other NGOs and volunteer groups.
(e) Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) shall actively participate and

coordinate in the formulation and monitoring of policies addressing the issue of
tracking in persons in coordination with relevant government agencies. It shall
likewise advocate for the inclusion of the issue of tracking in persons in both its
local and international advocacy for womens issues.
(f) Bureau of Immigration (BI) shall strictly administer and enforce immigration
and alien administration laws. It shall adopt measures for the apprehension of
suspected trackers both at the place of arrival and departure and shall ensure
compliance by the Filipino fiancs/fiances and spouses of foreign nationals with
the guidance and counseling requirement as provided for in this Act.
(g) Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
shall be the primary law enforcement agencies to undertake surveillance,
investigation and arrest of individuals or persons suspected to be engaged in
tracking. They shall closely coordinate with each other and with other law
enforcement agencies to secure concerted eorts for eective investigation and
97
apprehension of suspected trackers. They shall also establish a system to

receive complaints and calls to assist tracked persons and conduct rescue
operations.
(h) Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas

Workers and Welfare Administration (OWWA) POEA shall implement PreEmployment Orientation Seminars (PEOS) while Pre-Departure Orientation
Seminars (PDOS) shall be conducted by the OWWA. It shall likewise formulate a
system of providing free legal assistance to tracked persons, in coordination
with the DFA.
The POEA shall create a blacklist of recruitment agencies, illegal recruiters and
persons facing administrative, civil and criminal complaints for tracking filed in
the receiving country and/or in the Philippines and those agencies, illegal
recruiters and persons involved in cases of tracking who have been rescued by
the DFA and DOLE in the receiving country or in the Philippines even if no formal
administrative, civil or criminal complaints have been filed: Provided, That the
rescued victims shall execute an adavit attesting to the acts violative of the
anti-tracking law. This blacklist shall be posted in conspicuous places in
concerned government agencies and shall be updated bi-monthly.
The blacklist shall likewise be posted by the POEA in the shared government
information system, which is mandated to be established under Republic Act No.
8042, as amended.
The POEA and OWWA shall accredit NGOs and other service providers to
conduct PEOS and PDOS, respectively. The PEOS and PDOS should include the
discussion and distribution of the blacklist.
The license or registration of a recruitment agency that has been blacklisted may
be suspended by the POEA upon a review of the complaints filed against said
agency.
(i) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall institute a
systematic information and prevention campaign in coordination with pertinent
agencies of government as provided for in this Act. It shall provide training
programs to local government units, in coordination with the Council, in ensuring
wide understanding and application of this Act at the local level.
(j) Commission on Filipinos Overseas shall conduct pre-departure counseling

services for Filipinos in intermarriages. It shall develop a system for accreditation
of NGOs that may be mobilized for purposes of conducting pre-departure
counseling services for Filipinos in intermarriages. As such, it shall ensure that
the counselors contemplated under this Act shall have the minimum
qualifications and training of guidance counselors as provided for by law.
It shall likewise assist in the conduct of information campaigns against tracking

in coordination with local government units, the Philippine Information Agency,
and NGOs.
(k) Local government units (LGUs) shall monitor and document cases of
tracking in persons in their areas of jurisdiction, eect the cancellation of
licenses of establishments which violate the provisions of this Act and ensure
eective prosecution of such cases. They shall also undertake an information
campaign against tracking in persons through the establishment of the
Migrants Advisory and Information Network (MAIN) desks in municipalities or
provinces in coordination with the DILG, Philippine Information Agency (PIA),
Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), NGOs and other concerned agencies.
They shall encourage and support community-based initiatives which address
the tracking in persons.
98
In implementing this Act, the agencies concerned may seek and enlist the assistance of
NGOs, peoples organizations (POs), civic organizations and other volunteer groups. [As
Section 16-A. Anti-Tracking in Persons Database. An anti-tracking in persons

central database shall be established by the Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking
created under Section 20 of this Act. The Council shall submit a report to the President
of the Philippines and to Congress, on or before January 15 of every year, with respect
to the preceding years programs and data on tracking-related cases.
All government agencies tasked under the law to undertake programs and render
assistance to address tracking in persons shall develop their respective monitoring
and data collection systems, and databases, for purposes of ensuring ecient
collection and storage of data on cases of tracking in persons handled by their
respective oces. Such data shall be submitted to the Council for integration in a
central database system.
For this purpose, the Council is hereby tasked to ensure the harmonization and
standardization of databases, including minimum data requirements, definitions,
reporting formats, data collection systems, and data verification systems. Such
databases shall have, at the minimum, the following information:
(a) The number of cases of tracking in persons, sorted according to status of

cases, including the number of cases being investigated, submitted for
prosecution, dropped, and filed and/or pending before the courts and the
number of convictions and acquittals;
(b) The profile/information on each case;
(c) The number of victims of tracking in persons referred to the agency by

destination countries/areas and by area of origin; and
(d) Disaggregated data on tracking victims and the accused/defendants. [As

Section 17. Legal Protection to Tracked Persons. Tracked persons shall be

recognized as victims of the act or acts of tracking 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
tracked based on the acts of tracking enumerated in this Act or in obedience to the
order made by the tracker in relation thereto. In this regard, the consent of a tracked
person to the intended exploitation set forth in this Act shall be irrelevant.
Victims of tracking for purposes of prostitution as defined under Section 4 of this Act
are not covered by Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code and as such, shall not be
prosecuted, fined, or otherwise penalized under the said law. [As amended by Section
17 of R.A. 10364]
Section 17-A.Temporary Custody of Tracked Victims. The rescue of victims should

be done as much as possible with the assistance of the DSWD or an accredited NGO
that services tracked victims. A law enforcement ocer, on a reasonable suspicion
that a person is a victim of any oense defined under this Act including attempted
tracking, shall immediately place that person in the temporary custody of the local
social welfare and development oce, or any accredited or licensed shelter institution
devoted to protecting tracked persons after the rescue. [As amended by Section 18 of
R.A. 10364]
Section 17-B. Irrelevance of Past Sexual Behavior, Opinion Thereof or Reputation of

Victims and of Consent of Victims in Cases of Deception, Coercion and Other Prohibited
Means. The past sexual behavior or the sexual predisposition of a tracked person
shall be considered inadmissible in evidence for the purpose of proving consent of the
victim to engage in sexual behavior, or to prove the predisposition, sexual or otherwise,
of a tracked person. Furthermore, the consent of a victim of tracking to the intended
99
exploitation shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in Section 3(a) of this
Act has been used. [As amended by Section 19 of R.A. 10364]
Section 17-C.Immunity from Suit, Prohibited Acts and Injunctive Remedies. No action
or suit shall be brought, instituted or maintained in any court or tribunal or before any
other authority against any: (a) law enforcement ocer; (b) social worker; or (c) person
acting in compliance with a lawful order from any of the above, for lawful acts done or
statements made during an authorized rescue operation, recovery or rehabilitation/
intervention, or an investigation or prosecution of an anti-tracking case:Provided,That
such acts shall have been made in good faith.
The prosecution of retaliatory suits against victims of tracking shall be held in

abeyance pending final resolution and decision of criminal complaint for tracking.
It shall be prohibited for the DFA, the DOLE, and the POEA ocials, law enforcement
ocers, prosecutors and judges to urge complainants to abandon their criminal, civil
and administrative complaints for tracking.
The remedies of injunction and attachment of properties of the trackers, illegal

recruiters and persons involved in tracking may be issuedmotu proprioby judges. [As
Section 18. Preferential Entitlement Under the Witness Protection Program. - Any
provision of Republic Act No. 6981 to the contrary notwithstanding, any tracked
person shall be entitled to the witness protection program provided therein.
Section 19. Tracked Persons Who are Foreign Nationals. - Subject to the guidelines
issued by the Council, tracked persons in the Philippines who are nationals of a
foreign country shall also be entitled to appropriate protection, assistance and services
available to tracked persons under this Act: Provided, That they shall be permitted
continued presence in the Philippines for a length of time prescribed by the Council as
necessary to eect the prosecution of oenders.
Section 20. Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking. There is hereby established an

Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking, to be composed of the Secretary of the
Department of Justice as Chairperson and the Secretary of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development as Co-Chairperson and shall have the following as members:
(a) Secretary, Department of Foreign Aairs;
(b) Secretary, Department of Labor and Employment;
(c) Secretary, Department of the Interior and Local Government;
(d) Administrator, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration;
(e) Commissioner, Bureau of Immigration;
(f) Chief, Philippine National Police;
(g) Chairperson, Philippine Commission on Women;
(h) Chairperson, Commission on Filipinos Overseas;
(i) Executive Director, Philippine Center for Transnational Crimes; and
(j) Three (3) representatives from NGOs, who shall include one (1) representative
each from among the sectors representing women, overseas Filipinos, and
children, with a proven record of involvement in the prevention and suppression
of tracking in persons. These representatives shall be nominated by the
government agency representatives of the Council, for appointment by the
President for a term of three (3) years.
The members of the Council may designate their permanent representatives who shall
have a rank not lower than an assistant secretary or its equivalent to meetings, and shall
100
receive emoluments as may be determined by the Council in accordance with existing

budget and accounting rules and regulations. [As amended by Section 21 of R.A. 10364]
Section 21.Functions of the Council. - The Council shall have the following powers and
functions:
(a) Formulate a comprehensive and integrated program to prevent and suppress

the tracking in persons;
(b) Promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary for the eective
implementation of this Act;
(c) Monitor and oversee the strict implementation of this Act;
(d) Coordinate the programs and projects of the various member agencies to
eectively address the issues and problems attendant to tracking in persons;
(e) Coordinate the conduct of massive information dissemination and campaign

on the existence of the law and the various issues and problems attendant to
tracking through the LGUs, concerned agencies, and NGOs;
(f) Direct other agencies to immediately respond to the problems brought to their
attention and report to the Council on action taken;
(g) Assist in filing of cases against individuals, agencies, institutions or

establishments that violate the provisions of this Act;
(h) Formulate a program for the reintegration of tracked persons in cooperation

with DOLE, DSWD, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), LGUs and NGOs;
(i) Secure from any department, bureau, oce, agency, or instrumentality of the
government or from NGOs and other civic organizations such assistance as may
be needed to eectively implement this Act;
(j) Complement the shared government information system for migration

established under Republic Act No. 8042, otherwise known as the "Migrant
Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995" with data on cases of tracking in
persons, and ensure that the proper agencies conduct a continuing research and
study on the patterns and scheme of tracking in persons which shall form the
basis for policy formulation and program direction;
(k) Develop the mechanism to ensure the timely, coordinated, and eective
response to cases of tracking in persons;
(l) Recommend measures to enhance cooperative eorts and mutual assistance

among foreign countries through bilateral and/or multilateral arrangements to
prevent and suppress international tracking in persons;
(m) Coordinate with the Department of Transportation and Communications

(DOTC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and other NGOs in monitoring
the promotion of advertisement of tracking in the internet;
(n) Adopt measures and policies to protect the rights and needs of tracked
persons who are foreign nationals in the Philippines;
(o) Initiate training programs in identifying and providing the necessary

intervention or assistance to tracked persons; and
(p) Exercise all the powers and perform such other functions necessary to attain
the purposes and objectives of this Act.
Section 22.Secretariat to the Council. The Department of Justice shall establish the
necessary Secretariat for the Council.
The secretariat shall provide support for the functions and projects of the Council. The
secretariat shall be headed by an executive director, who shall be appointed by the
101
Secretary of the DOJ upon the recommendation of the Council. The executive director
must have adequate knowledge on, training and experience in the phenomenon of and
issues involved in tracking in persons and in the field of law, law enforcement, social
work, criminology, or psychology.
The executive director shall be under the supervision of the Inter-Agency Council
Against Tracking through its Chairperson and Co-Chairperson, and shall perform the
following functions:
(a) Act as secretary of the Council and administrative ocer of its secretariat;
(b) Advise and assist the Chairperson in formulating and implementing the
objectives, policies, plans and programs of the Council, including those involving
mobilization of government oces represented in the Council as well as other
relevant government oces, task forces, and mechanisms;
(c) Serve as principal assistant to the Chairperson in the overall supervision of

council administrative business;
(d) Oversee all council operational activities;
(e) Ensure an eective and ecient performance of council functions and prompt
implementation of council objectives, policies, plans and programs;
(f) Propose eective allocations of resources for implementing council objectives,

policies, plans and programs;
(g) Submit periodic reports to the Council on the progress of council objectives,
policies, plans and programs;
(h) Prepare annual reports of all council activities; and
(i) Perform other duties as the Council may assign. [As amended by
Section 23. Mandatory Services to Tracked Persons. - To ensure recovery,

rehabilitation and reintegration into the mainstream of society, concerned government
agencies shall make available the following services to tracked persons:
(a) Emergency shelter or appropriate housing;
(b) Counseling;
(c) Free legal services which shall include information about the victims' rights
and the procedure for filing complaints, claiming compensation and such other
legal remedies available to them, in a language understood by the tracked
person;
(d) Medical or psychological services;
(e) Livelihood and skills training; and
(f) Educational assistance to a tracked child.
Sustained supervision and follow through mechanism that will track the progress of
recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of the tracked persons shall be adopted and
carried out.
Section 24.Other Services for Tracked Persons.-
(a)Legal Assistance. - Tracked persons shall be considered under the category

"Overseas Filipino in Distress" and may avail of the legal assistance created by
Republic Act No. 8042, subject to the guidelines as provided by law.
(b) Overseas Filipino Resource Centers. - The services available to overseas

Filipinos as provided for by Republic Act No. 8042 shall also be extended to
tracked persons regardless of their immigration status in the host country.
102
(c)The Country Team Approach. - The country team approach under Executive
Order No. 74 of 1993, shall be the operational scheme under which Philippine
embassies abroad shall provide protection to tracked persons insofar as the
promotion of their welfare, dignity and fundamental rights are concerned.
Section 25. Repatriation of Tracked Persons. - The DFA, in coordination with DOLE
and other appropriate agencies, shall have the primary responsibility for the repatriation
of tracked persons, regardless of whether they are documented or undocumented.
If, however, the repatriation of the tracked persons shall expose the victims to greater
risks, the DFA shall make representation with the host government for the extension of
appropriate residency permits and protection, as may be legally permissible in the host
country.
Section 26.Extradition. -The DOJ, in consultation with DFA, shall endeavor to include
oenses of tracking in persons among extraditable oenses.
Section 26-A. Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction. The State shall exercise jurisdiction over
any act defined and penalized under this Act, even if committed outside the Philippines
and whether or not such act or acts constitute an oense at the place of commission,
the crime being a continuing oense, having been commenced in the Philippines and
other elements having been committed in another country, if the suspect or accused:
(a) Is a Filipino citizen; or
(b) Is a permanent resident of the Philippines; or
(c) Has committed the act against a citizen of the Philippines.
No prosecution may be commenced against a person under this section if a foreign

government, in accordance with jurisdiction recognized by the Philippines, has
prosecuted or is prosecuting such person for the conduct constituting such oense,
except upon the approval of the Secretary of Justice.
The government may surrender or extradite persons accused of tracking in the

Philippines to the appropriate international court if any, or to another State pursuant to
the applicable extradition laws and treaties. [As amended by Section 23 of R.A. 10364]
Section 27.Reporting Requirements. -The Council shall submit to the President of the
Philippines and to Congress an annual report of the policies, programs and activities
relative to the implementation of this Act.
Section 28. Funding. The amount necessary to implement the provisions of this Act
shall be charged against the current years appropriations of the Inter-Agency Council
Against Tracking under the budget of the DOJ and the appropriations of the other
concerned departments. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued
implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Section 28-A. Additional Funds for the Council. The amount collected from every
penalty, fine or asset derived from any violation of this Act shall be earmarked as
additional funds for the use of the Council. The fund may be augmented by grants,
donations and endowment from various sources, domestic or foreign, for purposes
related to their functions, subject to the existing accepted rules and regulations of the
Commission on Audit. [As amended by Section 25 of R.A. 10364]
Section 29. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Council shall promulgate the
necessary implementing rules and regulations within sixty (60) days from the eectivity
of this Act.
Section 30.Non-restriction of Freedom of Speech and of Association, Religion and the

Right to Travel. -Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as a restriction of the freedom of
speech and of association, religion and the right to travel for purposes not contrary to
law as guaranteed by the Constitution.
103
Section 31.Separability Clause. -If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act
is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be
aected thereby.
Section 32. Repealing Clause. Article 202 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended,
and all laws, acts, presidential decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, rules
and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are deemed
amended, modified or repealed accordingly:Provided, That this Act shall not in any way
amend or repeal the provisions of Republic Act No. 7610, otherwise known as the
Special Protection of Child Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
Section 33.Eectivity. This Act shall take eect fifteen (15) days following its complete
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. [As amended by
104

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PHILIPPINE REPORT ON THE

2013 Inter-Agency Council Against Tracking (IACAT)

Statistical Analysis: Francis Paul U. Baclay (Lead), Kirsten Jade S. Diaz

Additional Research: Mark Isaak S. Garrido, Nicholas C. Santizo, Jason R. Grospe

Administrative Support: Rachel C. Bucoy, Kirsten Jade S. Diaz

PHILIPPINE REPORT ON THE PROSECUTION OF

scope and limitations

number of filed trafficking charges and identified trafficked

types and spread of trafficking

criminal justice response

the anti-trafficking act of 2003, as amended

other domestic laws used to fight trafficking in persons

international declarations, agreements, and conventions 59

anti-trafficking in persons act of 2003

It provides a comprehensive database of filed tracking charges and identified

A presentation of the legal framework in the fight against tracking in persons is

over a 10 year period, there are 04.54 identified trafficked

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

pasay city has 5/12 times the number of identified trafficked

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

number of identified tracking victims per 100,000 persons

women are 5 times more likely to be trafficked than men

With 85% of identified tracked

adults are 3 times more

Sec.5: Acts that promote

Sec.4e: Keep or Hire for

Sec.4g: Removal and

cases with less

it takes average of 3 years and 3 months from filing of

Number of days from

Number of days from

investigating prosecutors found probable cause in 89% of

Resolution Issued in Favor of

Resolution Issued In Favor of

51% of charges at the trial court level do not reach trial or

Arraignment of Some of the Accused, 0.38%

74% of of concluded trials result in conviction

As used in this report concluded

there are 3 times the number of convictions under the

Arroyo Administration-37 convictions

Aquino Administration-96 convictions

These convictions include those where trackers were found guilty of a

2010 philippine conviction rate: .023 per 100,000 persons

2010 global conviction rate: .154 per 100,000 persons

This report seeks to address the gap in knowledge in Philippine anti-tracking

Governmental anti-tracking eorts are often evaluated according to the so-called

Acts that Promote Tracking in Persons

(a) To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow to be used any house,

(b) To produce, print and issue or distribute unissued, tampered or fake

(c) To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or cause the

(d) To assist in the conduct of misrepresentation or fraud for purposes of

(f) To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents, or

(h) To tamper with, destroy, or cause the destruction of evidence, or to

(i) To destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, or attempt to destroy,

(j) To utilize his or her oce to impede the investigation, prosecution or

Acts of Tracking in Persons

Covers the following acts committed by any person, natural or juridical: