P. Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208, Secs. 3–6 and 10–12, as amended by RA 10364, 11862, and 12312)

D. Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003

(R.A. No. 9208, as amended by R.A. Nos. 10364 and 11862, secs. 4-6)

ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT OF 2003 (R.A. NO. 9208, AS AMENDED BY R.A. NO. 10364)

Elements of Trafficking in Persons:

• Recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons;
• With or without the victim’s consent or knowledge;
• Within or across national borders;
• By means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person; and
• For the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs.

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall also be considered as “trafficking in persons” even if it does not involve any of the means set forth in the preceding paragraph. (Sec. 3)

PUNISHABLE ACTS

It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to commit any of the following acts:

• To recruit, obtain, hire, provide, offer, transport, transfer, maintain, harbor, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage;
• To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or other consideration, any person or, as provided for under Republic Act No. 6955, any Filipino woman to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading him/her to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading them to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor or slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting of tourism packages or activities for the purpose of utilizing and offering persons for prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation;
• To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography;
• To adopt persons by any form of consideration for exploitative purposes or to facilitate the same for purposes of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• To adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• To recruit, hire, adopt, transport, transfer, obtain, harbor, maintain, provide, offer, receive or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of organs of said person;
• To recruit, transport, obtain, transfer, harbor, maintain, offer, hire, provide, receive or adopt a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad;
• To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, obtain, maintain, offer, hire, provide or receive a person by means defined in Section 3 of this Act for purposes of forced labor, slavery, debt bondage and involuntary servitude, including a scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person either:
• To believe that if the person did not perform such labor or services, he or she or another person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint; or
• To abuse or threaten the use of law or the legal processes; and
• To recruit, transport, harbor, obtain, transfer, maintain, hire, offer, provide, adopt or receive a child for purposes of exploitation or trading them, including but not limited to, the act of bartering and/or selling a child for any consideration or for barter for purposes of exploitation. Trafficking for purposes of exploitation of children shall include:
• All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, involuntary servitude, debt bondage and forced labor, including recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
• The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography, or for pornographic performances;
• The use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs; and
• The use, procuring or offering of a child for illegal activities or work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their health, safety or morals; and
• To organize or direct other persons to commit the offenses defined as acts of trafficking under this Act. (Sec. 4)

Penalty

Any person found guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated above shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a fine of not less than P1,000,000.00 but not more than P2,000,000.00. (Sec. 10(a))

Protector/coddler

It refers to any person who knowingly and willfully consents to the unlawful acts provided for in this Act and uses his/her influence, power or position in shielding, harboring, screening or facilitating the escape of any person he/she knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe on or suspects, has violated the provisions of this Act in order to prevent the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the violator.

ACTS THAT PROMOTE TRAFFICKING

The following acts which promote or facilitate trafficking in persons, shall be unlawful:

• To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow to be used any house, building or establishment for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
• To produce, print and issue or distribute unissued, tampered or fake counseling certificates, registration stickers, overseas employment certificates or other certificates of any government agency which issues these certificates, decals and such other markers as proof of compliance with government regulatory and predeparture requirements for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
• To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or cause the advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting or distribution by any means, including the use of information technology and the internet, of any brochure, flyer, or any propaganda material that promotes trafficking in persons;
• To assist in the conduct of misrepresentation or fraud for purposes of facilitating the acquisition of clearances and necessary exit documents from government agencies that are mandated to provide pre-departure registration and services for departing persons for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
• To facilitate, assist or help in the exit and entry of persons from/to the country at international and local airports, territorial boundaries and seaports who are in possession of unissued, tampered or fraudulent travel documents for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons;
• To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents, or personal documents or belongings of trafficked persons in furtherance of trafficking or to prevent them from leaving the country or seeking redress from the government or appropriate agencies;
• To knowingly benefit from, financial or otherwise, or make use of, the labor or services of a person held to a condition of involuntary servitude, forced labor, or slavery.
• To tamper with, destroy, or cause the destruction of evidence, or to influence or attempt to influence witnesses, in an investigation or prosecution of a case under this Act;
• To destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, or attempt to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate or possess, any actual or purported passport or other travel, immigration or working permit or document, or any other actual or purported government identification, of any person in order to prevent or restrict, or attempt to prevent or restrict, without lawful authority, the person’s liberty to move or travel in order to maintain the labor or services of that person; or
• To utilize his or her office to impede the investigation, prosecution or execution of lawful orders in a case under this Act. (Sec. 5)

Penalty

Any person found guilty of committing any of the acts enumerated above shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of fifteen (15) years and a fine of not less than P500,000.00 but not more than P1,000,000.00. (Sec. 10(c))

QUALIFIED TRAFFICKING

The following are considered as qualified trafficking:

• When the trafficked person is a child;
• When the adoption is effected through Republic Act No. 8043, otherwise known as the “Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995” and said adoption is for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage;
• When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale.

Trafficking is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group;

• When the offender is a spouse, an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a person who exercises authority over the trafficked person or when the offense is committed by a public officer or employee;
• When the trafficked person is recruited to engage in prostitution with any member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
• When the offender is a member of the military or law enforcement agencies;
• When by reason or on occasion of the act of trafficking in persons, the offended party dies, becomes insane, suffers mutilation or is afflicted with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS);
• When the offender commits one or more violations of Section 4 over a period of sixty (60) or more days, whether those days are continuous or not; and
• When the offender directs or through another manages the trafficking victim in carrying out the exploitative purpose of trafficking. (Sec. 6)

d. Being an employee of a den, dive or resort, who is aware of the nature of the place as such. (Sec. 7)

Any person who, not being included in the provisions of the next preceding paragraph, is aware of the nature of the place as such and shall knowingly visit the same.

Penalty

Any person found guilty of qualified trafficking shall suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2,000,000.00 but not more than P5,000,000.00. (Sec. 10 (d))

Initiation of Investigation

Law enforcement agencies are mandated to immediately initiate investigation and countertrafficking-intelligence gathering upon receipt of statements or affidavit from victims of trafficking, migrant workers, or their families who are in possession of knowledge or information about trafficking in persons cases.

Prosecution of Cases

Any person who has personal knowledge of the commission of any offense under this Act, such as the trafficked person, the parents, spouse, siblings, children or legal guardian may file a complaint for trafficking.

Affidavit of Desistance

Cases involving trafficking in persons should not be dismissed based on the affidavit of desistance executed by the victims or their parents or legal guardians. Public and private prosecutors are directed to oppose and manifest objections to motions for dismissal. (Sec. 8)

PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD

Trafficking cases under this Act shall prescribe in ten (10) years.

Trafficking cases committed by a syndicate or in a large scale, or against a child, shall prescribe in twenty (20) years.

The prescriptive period shall commence to run from the day on which the trafficked person is delivered or released from the conditions of bondage, or in the case of a child victim, from the day the child reaches the age of majority, and shall be interrupted by the filing of the complaint or information and shall commence to run again when the proceedings terminate without the accused being convicted or acquitted or are unjustifiably stopped for any reason not imputable to the accused. (Sec. 12)

Irrelevance of Past Sexual Behavior

The past sexual behavior or the sexual predisposition of a trafficked person shall be considered inadmissible in evidence for the purpose of proving consent of the victim to engage in sexual behavior, or to prove the predisposition, sexual or otherwise, of a trafficked person.

Cases

People v. Lalli, G.R. No. 195419, 2011

Given the broad definition of recruitment and placement, even the mere act of referring someone for placement abroad can be considered recruitment. Such act of referral, in connivance with someone without the requisite authority or POEA license, constitutes illegal recruitment. In its simplest terms, illegal recruitment is committed by persons who, without authority from the government, give the impression that they have the power to send workers abroad for employment purposes.

Lalli, Aringoy and Relampagos have conspired and confederated with one another to recruit and place Lolita for work in Malaysia without a POEA license. The three elements of syndicated illegal recruitment are present in this case:

• The accused have no valid license or authority required by law to lawfully engage in recruitment and placement of workers;
• The accused engaged in recruitment and place by actually recruiting, deploying, and transporting Lolita to Malaysia; and,
• Illegal recruitment was committed by three persons, conspiring and confederating with one another.

People v. Casio, G.R. No. 211465, 2014

An Information was filed against X, charging her for violating R.A. 9208 Sec. 4(a), qualified by Sec. 6(a). The Information states that: X, with deliberate intent, with intent to gain, did then and there hire and/or recruit Y, a minor, 17 years old and Z for the purpose of prostitution and sexual exploitation, by acting as their procurer for different customers, for money, profit, or any other consideration. The accused, X, testified that while she was walking outside, two men asked her if she knew someone named “A,” but she replied that she only knew a certain “Y.” The two men said that they were actually looking for Y, gave her a piece of paper with a number on it, and told her to tell Y to bring companions. When X arrived home, she contacted Y. Y convinced her to come because allegedly, she would be given money by the two males. The RTC found X guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The Court of Appeals likewise affirmed the same. X argued that Y admitted to her that she was already engaged in prostitution, and therefore led X to conclude that Y was predisposed to having sex with customers for money. Can X’s argument prosper?

No. Under Sec. 3(a) of R.A. 9208, trafficking in persons can still be committed even if victim gives consent. The victim’s consent is rendered meaningless due to coercive, abusive, or deceptive means employed by perpetrators of human trafficking. R.A. 9208 further defines what qualifies the crime of trafficking in persons, and one of them is when trafficked person is a child. The crime has been consummated for the mere “transaction” i.e. that ‘solicitation’ for sex and handling over of the “bust money” already consummated the act.

People of the Philippines v. Nancy Lasaca Ramirez, G.R. No. 217978, 2019

Officer X went undercover in a KTV Bar where prostitution was rampant. Y approached officer X and offered special services to be given by Z in exchange for money. Z was a minor. Officer X accepted the agreement and hailed a cab for Z and himself to head to a motel. Before arriving in the motel Z asked for the payment in exchange for the special services which Officer X complied with, however shortly after he asked the taxi to stop and introduced himself as an Officer. He went back to the KTV Bar and arrested Y. In the defense of, Y she claimed that Z has given consent to conduct the interaction therefore absolving her from liability. Is Y still guilty?

Yes. Under Republic Act No. 10364, the elements of trafficking in persons have been expanded to include the following acts:

• The act of "recruitment, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transportation, transfer, maintaining, harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim's consent or knowledge, within or across national borders
• The means used include "by means of threat, or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person
• The purpose of trafficking includes "the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs[.]"

Here, Y was charged with having violated qualified trafficking in relation to Section 4 (e) of Republic Act No. 9208, which provides that it is unlawful for anyone to maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography.

The court held that the victim’s consent is rendered meaningless due to the coercive, abusive, or deceptive means employed by perpetrators of human-trafficking. Even without the use of coercive, abusive, or deceptive means, a minor’s consent is not given out of his or her own free will. Y took advantage of the vulnerability of Z as a minor. Z ‘s acquiescence to the transaction cannot be a valid defense.

Santiago v. People, G.R. No. 213760, October 5, 2020

The RTC found X of the crime of trafficking in persons punished under Section 4(a) of AntiTrafficking in Persons, giving credence to the testimony of A, whom X recruited to have sex with Z, who was designated as a confidential police asset, for P500. The CA affirmed the conviction of X. X argues that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt as Z, the confidential informant was not able to give a testimony, thus raising doubt on whether petitioner truly offered A to Z. Is X’s argument tenable?

No. The Court denied X’s contention. The testimony of the confidential informant is not indispensable in the crime of trafficking in persons. Neither is his identity relevant. It is sufficient that the accused has lured, enticed, or engaged its victims or transported them for the established purpose of exploitation, which was sufficiently shown by the trafficked person's testimony alone.

Notes:

• The act punishable is the promotion or facilitating the prostitution or corruption of persons underage (under 18) to satisfy the lust of another
• A mere proposal will consummate the offense. It is not necessary that the unchaste acts shall have been done to the minor.
• A single act without abuse of authority or confidence is now a crime, pursuant to B.P. Blg. 92.
• Victim must be of good reputation, not a prostitute or a corrupted person.

Art. 341. White Slave Trade

Any person who, in any manner, or under any pretext, shall engage in the business of, or shall profit by, prostitution, or shall enlist the services of women for the purpose of prostitution

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Updated: Persuading a person who initially declined to offer sexual services can constitute recruitment for sex trafficking, and consent does not preclude the offense (People v. Dela Torre, G.R. No. 268971, 19 February 2026).

Persons liable:

• Founders and Presidents; and
• Members

20. THE CRIME BE COMMITTED:

a. With the aid of persons under 15 years of age, or