IACAT calls for unity vs human trafficking

As it launched this year’s national awareness month against trafficking, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) on Wednesday called for government agencies and private stakeholders to unite against the crime.

IACAT Assistant Secretary-in-Charge Michelle Lapuz said human trafficking is a complex crime where individuals and organized criminal networks exploit vulnerability and operate across borders.

“Organized crime can only be defeated by organized systems of justice. Today, we are once again demonstrating our collective resolve toward the implementation of our anti-trafficking laws,” she said.

“Our success lies in our willingness to work across institutions, across sectors, and across national borders. When criminals organize across borders to exploit humanity, nations and communities must unite to defend it,” she added.

IACAT called on all sectors to report suspected trafficking cases through action line 1343.

According to Social Welfare and Development Protective Services Bureau Director Irish Opeña, the department recorded 2,745 cases nationwide in 2025.

Of this, she said 1,723 are female out of 753 are male.

Meanwhile, the DSWD recorded 507 cases for the first quarter of 2026.

Opeña said that NCR recorded the highest number of trafficking survivors with 206 cases, followed by Region 9 with 54 cases, Region 11 with 42 cases, and Region 3 with 34 cases.

IACAT Secretariat Executive Director Hannah Manalili said the Philippines remains as a “source country” due to the high number of Filipino nationals seeking opportunities abroad.

“Dahil nga po mataas ‘yung bilang ng ating mga migrant workers or overeas Filipinos, mataas din ‘yung baseline for percentage of our population who are prone to being abused or exploited,” she said.

(Because we have a large number of migrant workers or overseas Filipinos, we also have a higher baseline percentage of our population that is vulnerable to abuse or exploitation.)

“Lalo na po pag wala na po kayo sa sariling bansa, no? Syempre malayo po kayo sa inyong pamilya, hindi niyo po alam kung saan po kayo lalapit. ‘Yan po ang nagiging target ng recruiters and traffickers,” she added.

(Especially once you are no longer in your own country. Of course, you are far from your family, and you may not know where to turn for help. That is what recruiters and traffickers target.)

However, she said the Philippines became a “destination country for trafficked foreign nationals” in 2023 due to scam centers.

“But since then, under the directive of our Honorable President Bongbong Marcos, we have closed down and cracked all these scam centers in the Philippines that operate to abuse these entities to exploit human trafficking victims,” she said.

The 2026 National Anti-Trafficking in Persons Awareness Month has the theme “Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang Human Trafficking Ngayon.”

Meanwhile, Lapuz noted that the country maintained its Tier 1 status in the United States Government’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report.

According to the US State Department, the Tier 1 ranking is given to countries that meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

“Through the IACAT, chaired by the Department of Justice, we remain steadfast in ensuring that our justice system continues to respond with integrity, competence, and compassion,” she said.

IACAT Secretariat Executive Director Hannah Manalili, Immigration Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac, National Bureau of Investigation Executive Officer Kirk Matthew Pedro, Philippine Coast Guard Commander Alen Dalangin, and Interior Assistant Director Izza Laurio-Abadiano, Ayn Natuel of the Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center Anti-Trafficking in Persons were present.

Also present were Commission on Filipino Overseas Undersecretary Arlene Borja, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Migration Affairs Angeline Escalona, Migrant Workers Assistant Secretary for Licensing and Adjudication and Regional Operations Jerome Alcantara, and Transportation Assistant Secretary Manuel Cabochan III. — RSJ, GMA News