The Department of Justice has successfully prosecuted in various trial courts some 25 case of trafficking in persons that resulted in the conviction of 28 accused from January 1 to June 30 this year.
Justice Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay Villar stressed that in the 25 TIP cases, there were 73 victims, 57 of them minors.
Villar also said that from 2005 to June 30, 2021, there have been 679 judgments of conviction secured by the DOJ from various courts. The cases resulted in the conviction of 681 persons.
According to her, the highest number of convictions was secured in 2018 with 129, followed by 92 in 2020 and 89 in 2019.
“The submissions for convictions and other data usually come at the end of the year.”
Some courts “do not submit data mid-year,” she said.
Charges in TIP cases involve violations of Republic Act No. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act enacted in 2003.
Under RA 9208, jail term for violators ranges from six years to life imprisonment with fines ranging from P500,000 to P2 million. Rey Requejo