23/01/2025
The has affirmed that recruiting children for sexual exploitation is trafficking, even without the use of threats, force, or coercion.
In a Decision written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, the Court’s Second Division upheld the conviction of Jhona Galeseo Villaria and Lourdes Aralar Maghirang (accused) for 8 counts of qualified trafficking in persons. They were sentenced to life imprisonment, fined PHP 16 million, and ordered to pay each of the victims PHP 600,000 in damages.
The accused were arrested in 2016 by the Philippine National Police during an entrapment operation in a hotel, where they accepted marked money from the undercover police officers as payment for several female minors.
Trafficking occurs when individuals are recruited, transported, or transferred for exploitative purposes, including prostitution, forced labor, slavery, or the removal or sale of organs through threats or use of force, coercion, deception, abuse of power, or by offering money.
The Court clarified that under Section 3(a) of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, as amended, recruiting a child for sexual exploitation is enough to establish trafficking, regardless of whether threats, force, coercion, or deception were used.
In this case, the accused recruited minors and offered them for sexual activities in exchange for money. They took advantage of the victims’ youth and financial struggles to gain their consent.
Read the press release in full at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/sc-threat-force-or-coercion-not-required-in-child-trafficking-cases/
Read the full text of the Decision at: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/259133-people-of-the-philippines-vs-jhona-galeseo-villaria-et-al/
Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIO’s Credit Attribution Policy: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/credit-attribution-policy/
