PH 'actively pursuing' adoption of declaration vs. cyber trafficking —DFA chief

The Philippines is "actively pursuing" the adoption of a declaration against cyber trafficking of persons, by the ASEAN, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

"We are also actively pursuing, in the ASEAN, the adoption of a declaration [against] trafficking, especially in the use of cyber trafficking," Manalo said in an interview.

"That is something the Philippines will actively pursue in the months and weeks to come," he added.

Manalo said President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. recently convened the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to identify the group behind the rampant cases of human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

Manalo also said the Philippines has been actively rescuing and repatriating Filipinos who were forced to work as scammers abroad, citing the recent case in Myanmar where some 200 Filipinos were rescued from a crypto farm.

Manalo, meanwhile, denied that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has zero acquittal rate when it comes to Filipinos facing charges abroad.

Citing DFA data, Manalo said that from 2018 to 2022, they were able to secure 556 acquittals, 135 of which were in 2022 alone.

"We double-checked, they double-checked, and I have to announce now that there are actually, from 2018 to 2022, 556 acquittals secured by the DFA through the use of the legal assistance fund, and in 2022 alone, there were 135 acquittals," he said.

Manalo said they are also working tirelessly to assist Filipinos on death row abroad.

According to the DFA, there are 81 overseas Filipinos who are facing death penalty cases at present. —KBK, GMA Integrated News