DOJ seeks restoration of 2026 funding for anti-trafficking, cybercrime efforts

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday appealed to a House committee to restore its 2027 budget for anti-trafficking, cybercrime and child abuse programs to 2026 levels, noting significant cuts to funding for these initiatives.

During the department’s budget hearing, Justice Undersecretary Michelle Ann Lapuz flagged the rising number of cases involving sextortion, online scams, online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC), online illegal recruitment and nihilistic violent extremism.

She stressed that these are “technology-facilitated crimes.”

“We feel that there is a misapprehension of the scope of the problem because if, for example, the committee deliberating on our project would appreciate the gravity and urgency by which we need to respond to these crimes, then they would at the very least restore our budget to the 2026 levels,” she said.

The DOJ has a proposed budget of P46.435 billion, equivalent to less than 1% of the P7.2 trillion proposed national budget.

Lapuz said the budget for the National Coordination Center Against OSAEC and CSAEM Secretariat was reduced from P100 million in 2026 to P36.5 million.

The budget for the DOJ-Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Secretariat was cut from P119 million to P70 million, while the allocation for the Office of Cybercrime was slashed from P102.2 million to P12.273 million.

She said the cuts would set the DOJ’s initiatives back by “two to three steps.”

“We have just rolled out the national strategic action plan against OSAEC/CSAEM and we want to maintain the Tier 1 status of the Philippines in the US TIP report,” she said.

Lapuz warned that losing the country’s Tier 1 status could have economic implications.

In September 2025, the Philippines maintained its Tier 1 status in the United States government's 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, marking the country’s 10th consecutive year in the top tier. GMA News report on the Philippines' Tier 1 status

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

The undersecretary said maintaining the status would require continuous improvement in the country’s response mechanisms.

“Hindi lang po kung ano ‘yung ginawa natin last year, gagawin din natin ngayon. What is important is we improve the response. At the very least, restoration of our budget will ensure sufficient support for that goal,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bukidnon Representative Jonathan Keith Flores requested the restoration of the DOJ’s budget.

“I would like to reiterate my request, and echo Secretary (Fredderick) Vida’s appeal, that at the very least, the budget for anti-trafficking in persons, cybercrime enforcement and OSAEC be restored to 2026 levels,” he said.— MCG, GMA News