Legarda Hopes to Increase Awareness on Int'l Anti-Human Trafficking Day

In light of December 12 being International Anti-Human Trafficking Day, Senator Loren Legarda hopes to increase awareness about the plight of human trafficking victims and efforts to combat human traffickers.

"Today, I wish to underscore the message that everyone must join in the effort to combat human trafficking and the related problems of the illegal sex trade, forced labor, and other forms of slavery. Human traffickers target the most vulnerable sectors of society – men, women, and children from marginalized communities are exploited every day, and this is the injustice that we must all act against," she said.

"By the end of 2011, the country's Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking reported 62 convictions out of a total of 1,519 cases filed between 2003 and 2011. From January to October of this year, however, 38 convictions were made, equivalent to more than half of the total convictions made over an 8-year period," she explained.

Legarda, author of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208) and sponsor of the proposed Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (Senate Bill 2625), said that we are already making significant strides.

"The immediate enactment of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill, the bicameral report of which has already been ratified by the Senate, brings us closer to our goal of fighting trafficking effectively and I hope the President will sign the measure into law soon," the Senator noted.

"We acknowledge that the problem of human trafficking continues to hound our society, and this is precisely the reason why we need to strengthen our existing law and spread awareness about human trafficking. Let us be vigilant and in doing so, eliminate these injustices in our society," Legarda concluded.