SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday reiterated the need for a stronger crackdown on all forms of human trafficking including the online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC). The report said the Department of Social Welfare and Development served 1,205 trafficking victims including 157 victims of OSEC. "Through the bill that we're pushing, which aim to strengthen our laws against human trafficking, it is our desire to protect our youth from this kind of abuse and violence," he said in a statement. SB 1794 seeks to provide standards and guidelines on surveillance, interception, investigation, and prosecution of different forms of human trafficking, including sexual exploitation, prostitution and pornography. Tourism-oriented establishments will also be tasked to train their staff to recognize signs of human trafficking crimes so they can report them to law enforcement agencies.

Source: Manila Times July 11, 2021 15:45 UTC