Remulla alarmed as number of rescued Pinoy human trafficking victims in 2023 hits 2,000

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said the number of human trafficking victims for the first two months of 2023 almost equaled the number of victims for the whole of 2022.

According to Remulla, the government rescued around 2,000 trafficking victims in January and February.

“Very alarming yan kasi halos buong 2022, output ng trafficking na match ng dalawang buwan pa lang,” Remulla said.

(That's very alarming because the human trafficking output for the first two months matched the output for the whole of 2022.)

“Sa 2022 vis-a-vis 2023, two months pa lang halos ano na, halos two thirds na ng 2022 yung lumalabas na victims of trafficking,” he added.

(In 2022 vis-a-vis 2023, in just two months, the victims of human traficking is two-thirds of the number from 2022.)

Remulla issued the remark in an ambush interview following an inter-agency meeting on trafficking with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other agencies.

“Tinatawag natin modern-day slavery. Dyan dinadala mga Pilipino that’s why we are alerting all agencies, kasama na Immigration. Lahat, lahat kasama na pwedeng tumulong,” he said.

(We call it modern-day slavery. That's how Filipinos are taken. That’s why we are alerting all agencies, including the Immigration Bureau. Everyone, everyone who can help are included.)

Due to this, he said they are implementing actions against trafficking.

"Hinahanap natin nagyon ang mga perpetrators, yan, meron na nga tayong committee to go against it. Joint committee na to. Talagang it has been working for a long time and we have secured many convictions," he said.

(We are now looking for the perpetrators. So there, we have a committee that will deal with it. It's a joint committee. It really has been working for a long time and we have secured many convictions.)

The Justice secretary also reminded the public to be careful.

“Kaya sana yung mga kababayan natin mag iingat, basta inoffer ng mga trabaho sa abroad ay tignan muna nila kung tama yung kanilang pinapasukan,” Remulla said.

(Hopefully, our countrymen will be careful. If it's an offer for an overseas job, they should see if they are getting into something that's legitimate.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News