Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11862)
The short title of Republic Act No. 11862 is the 'Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022.'
Trafficking in Persons refers to the recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim's consent or knowledge, by means such as threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or position, or taking advantage of vulnerability, for the purpose of exploitation, including sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, servitude, or removal or sale of organs.
The means include threat, use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or position, taking advantage of vulnerability, or giving/receiving payments to obtain consent of a person who controls another.
Unlawful acts include recruiting, obtaining, hiring, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving persons for prostitution, pornography, sexual abuse or exploitation, forced labor, slavery, servitude, debt bondage, illegal adoption for exploitative purposes, removal or sale of organs, recruitment for armed conflict, and deployment as migrant workers under exploitative conditions.
They may be fined from Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00) up to Ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) for subsequent offenses, including revocation of franchise and license to operate, with subsidiary liability on owners or managers.
Law enforcement officers may, upon court order or in some cases without order (especially when a child is involved), intercept communications of suspects, and all such interceptions are subject to strict procedures including deposit and confidentiality of materials, with penalties for unauthorized handling or destruction of evidence.
Internet intermediaries must adopt prohibitions against child trafficking, cooperate with law enforcement without need of warrant for subscriber info upon formal request, preserve subscriber data, immediately block access to trafficking-related content within 24 hours after notice, and report blocked material to authorities.
Qualified trafficking includes cases where the victim is a child, where acts are committed over at least 60 days, involving direction or management of the victim for exploitation, crimes committed during crises or emergencies, involving indigenous or disabled persons, those resulting in pregnancy or mental disorder of the victim, and those committed using ICT or computer systems.
The DSWD must develop trauma-informed counseling, rehabilitation, protection, and reintegration programs for trafficked persons, maintain recovery and reintegration databases, operate 24-hour crisis call centers, and conduct community information campaigns especially educating against giving children up for consideration in adoption.
IACAT includes secretaries of Justice, Social Welfare and Development, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Interior and Local Government, Education, Health, ICT, Migrant Workers, Tourism, Transportation, heads of PNP, NBI, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Commission on Women, Commission on Filipinos Overseas, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Council for the Welfare of Children, Anti-Money Laundering Council, leagues of provinces, municipalities and cities, and three NGO representatives from sectors of women, overseas Filipinos, and children.