Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012
 Recruiting children for use in armed conflict;
What is the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012?
The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, or Republic Act 10364 is
an act that institutes policies to eliminate trafficking in persons especially women
and children. Also, it establishes the necessary mechanisms to protect and support
trafficked persons, and provides penalties thereof.
R.A. 10364 is said to be an expanded and strengthened version of the Anti-
Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (R.A 9208) and the new law now covers
attempted trafficking, as well as accomplice and accessory liabilities.
In the new law, the following acts are now considered human trafficking:
 recruitment of domestic/overseas employment for sexual exploitation;
 forced labor or involuntary debt bondage;
 recruitment of Filipino woman to marry a foreigner;
 recruitment for sex tourism;
 recruitment for organ removal; and
 recruitment of a child to engage in armed activities abroad;
THREE CATEGORIES OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
Acts of Trafficking in Persons
 Recruiting, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transporting, transferring,
maintaining, harbouring, or receiving 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, or sexual
exploitation;
 Recruiting any Filipino woman to marry a foreign national for the purpose
of acquiring, buying, offering, selling him/her to engage in prostitution,
pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude
or debt bondage;
 Undertaking or organizing tours and travel plans for the purpose of sex
tourism;
 Maintaining or hiring a person for prostitution or pornography;
 Exploiting children in terms of:
 Child prostitution/pornography;
 Using, procuring or offering of a child for the production and
trafficking of drugs; and
 Using, procuring or offering of a child for illegal works or
activities.
Acts that Promote Trafficking
 Leasing/sub-leasing, using or allowing any house, building, or
establishment for the purpose of trafficking in persons;
 producing, print and issuing unissued, tampered or fake counselling
certificates, registration stickers and certificates of any government agency
which issue such certificates, for the purpose of trafficking;
 advertising, publishing, printing or broadcasting by any means, including
the use of information technology, any propaganda that promotes trafficking in
persons;
 facilitating, assisting or helping in the exit and entry of persons from/to the
country at international and local airports who have fraudulent travel
documents for the purposes of promoting trafficking in persons;
 confiscating, concealing or destroying the passport, travel documents of
trafficked persons in furtherance of trafficking to prevent them from leaving
the country;
 benefiting from, financial or otherwise, the labor services of a person held
to a condition of involuntary servitude, forced labor or slavery; and
 Utilizing his or her office to impede the investigation, prosecution or
execution of lawful orders in a case under this Act.
 
Qualified Trafficking
The following are an act of qualified trafficking:
 When the trafficked person is a child;
 When the adoption is for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual
exploitation and the like;
 When the crime is committed by a syndicate;
  When the offender is a spouse, an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a
person who exercises authority over the trafficked person;
 When the offender is a member of the military or law enforcement agency;
and
 When by reason or occasion of the act, the offended party dies, becomes
insane, or been afflicted by HIV-AIDS
 When the offender commits one or more violations of Section 4 over a
period of sixty or more days, continuous or not; and
 When the offender directs or through another manages the trafficking
victim in carrying out exploitative purpose of trafficking.
What is attempted trafficking?
Under R.A. 10364, attempted trafficking is any act to initiate the commission of a
trafficking offense but the offender failed to or did not execute all the elements of
the crime due to accident or by reason of some cause other than voluntary
desistance.
If the victim is a child, an act be considered attempted trafficking if a person –
 facilitates the travel of a child without clearance from DSWD or
parental/legal consent;
 executing affidavit of consent for adoption;
 Recruiting a woman to bear a child; simulating a birth; or soliciting a child
and requiring custody through any means from hospital, health centers and the
like, all for the purpose of selling the child.
What in an accomplice liability?
One of the new provisions inserted in this Act provides for the liabilities of an
accomplice in trafficking. Under this Act, an accomplice is anyone who knowingly
aids, abets, cooperates in the execution of the offense, whether by previous or
simultaneous acts, and shall be punished in accordance with this law.
What is an accessory liability?
An accessory is any person that has the knowledge of the commission of the
crime and without having participated therein, takes part in the commission in any of
the following manners:
 profiting themselves or assisting the offender to profit by the effects of the
crime;
 by concealing or destroying the boy of the crime; and
 by harbouring, concealing or assisting in the escape of the principal of the
crime.
An accessory shall be liable to the penalties provided for in this Act.
 
Who may file a case?
The following persons may file cases of trafficking in persons:
 trafficked person;
 the parents, spouse, siblings, children or legal guardian of the trafficked
person; and
 Anyone who has personal knowledge of the crime.
Who may be punished for trafficking in persons?
Any person, natural or juridical, found guilty of trafficking under R.A 10364 may be
punished.
 If the offender is a corporation, partnership, association, club, establishment
or any juridical persons, the penalty shall be imposed upon the owner,
president, partner, manager, and/or any responsible officer who participated in
the commissions of the crime, or who knowingly permitted or failed to prevent
is commission.
 If the offender is a foreigner, he or she shall be immediately deported after
serving his/her sentence and barred from entering the country.
Prescriptive Period
Trafficking cases can be filed within 10 years after they are committed. If trafficking
is committed by a syndicate or on a large scale, cases can be filed within 20 years
after the commission of the act. The so-called “prescriptive period” is counted from What protection is given to trafficked persons under R.A. 10364?
the day the trafficked person is delivered or released from the conditions of bondage.
Trafficked persons shall be considered victims and shall not be penalized for
In the case of a child victim, the prescriptive period starts from the day the child unlawful acts committed.
reaches the age of majority.
 The consent of the victim to the intended exploitation is irrelevant; also
PENALTIES  The past sexual behaviour or predisposition of a trafficked person shall be
considered inadmissible in evidence of proving consent of the victim to the
crime.
ACT PENALTY
Temporary Custody of Trafficked Victims is also now provided under RA 10364 –
rescue of trafficked persons should be under the assistance of DSWD or any
20 yrs of imprisonment and a fine of 1 million accredited NGO that services trafficked victims.
Acts of Trafficking
to 2 million pesos
Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction
Acts that Promote 15 yrs of imprisonment and a fine of 500,000
Trafficking/Accessory Liability to 1 million pesos Under this Act, the state can exercise jurisdiction over any act defined and penalized
under the law, even if the crime is committed outside the Philippines, if the suspect
or accused is:
Life imprisonment and a fine of 2 million to 5
Qualified Trafficking
million pesos  A Filipino citizen; or
 A permanent resident of the Philippines; or
15 yrs imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to  Has committed the act against a citizen of the Philippines.
Attempted Trafficking
1 million pesos
 
15 yrs imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to
Accomplice Liability What is an Anti-Trafficking in Persons Database?
1 million pesos

Another added provision in this act is the database of anti-trafficking in persons

6 yrs imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to 1 wherein the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) shall submit a
Breach of Confidentiality Clause
million pesos report to the President of the Philippines and to Congress, on or before January 15 f
every year, the preceding year’s programs and date on trafficking-related cases.

(1)     six years to 12 years imprisonment and Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT)
a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 pesos
IACAT is the primary body that coordinates, monitor and oversee the
Use of Trafficked Persons   implementation of R.A. 10364. IACAT is composed of the following agencies:

(2)     Deportation – if the offense is  Secretary, DOJ (Chairperson)

committed by a foreigner
 Secretary, DSWD (Co-Chairperson)

Members:
  Secretary, DFA;
 Secretary, DOLE;
 Secretary, DILG;
 Administrator, POEA;
 Commissioner, BOI;
 Chief, PNP;
 Chairperson, PCW;
 Chairperson, CFO;
 Executive Director, PCTC; and
 Three representatives from NGOs shall include one representative each
from the sectors of women, overseas Filipinos, and children.
Funding
The funds necessary to implement this Act will be charged against the current year’s
appropriations of the IACAT under the budget of the DOJ and other concerned
departments.
 Additional Funds for the Council is also now provided by the law, the
amount collected from every penalty, fine or asset derived from any violation
of this Act shall be considered additional funds for the Council.
Republic Act No. 11053, also known as the Anti-Hazing Act of
2018
Definition of Hazing, to include acts that result to physical or psychological
suffering, harm, or injury inflicted on a recruit, neophyte, applicant, or member
as part of initiation or requirement or continuing membership in a fraternity, sorority,
or organization (Sec. 2a).
Definition of an Organization, which is expanded to include but not limited to any
club, association, group, fraternity, or sorority (Sec. 2c)
Banned under the law are "all forms of hazing" not only in fraternities,
sororities or organizations in schools, but also those in communities and even
businesses and uniformed service learning institutions.
Promulgation of procedures to regulate school-based initiation, which requires a
written application (must be submitted seven (7) days before initiation),
information on participants and the event, an undertaking that no harm will be done,
guarantee that initiation shall not to last more than three (3) days, and posting (i.e. in
bulletin boards, offices) of the said application (Sec. 4).
Formulation of Guidelines to approval of University-based initiation, to be
promulgated within 60 days after approval of the Act [Act was approved 29 June
2018] (Sec. 4).
University Representation during approved initiation rites (Sec. 5).
Mandatory registration for fraternities, sororities, and organizations, with
University students as members, before they conduct activities in the school (Sec.
6).
Qualification of the Fraternity, Sorority, and Organization Adviser [must be a faculty
member] and his/her responsibilities during initiation [i.e. monitor activities,
presumed consent when unlawful act is committed] (Sec. 7).
Responsibilities of the University, to include (a) information dissemination to
students and parents about hazing, and (b) orientation to fraternities, sororities, and
organizations at the start of the semester (Sec. 8).
Penalties, to cover those who participated in hazing, planned the hazing, cooperated
with the hazing, concealment of hazing, and obstructing investigation (Sec. 14).
Penalties on the University, when no authorized representative was present during
the initiation rites or have failed to act on the case (Sec. 14)
Reflection of conviction by final judgment in the scholastic record of the person
convicted, regardless when the judgment of conviction has become final (Sec. 14).
Liabilities include:
* penalty of reclusion temporal and P1 million on the participating officer and
members of the fraternity who were involved in the hazing
* reclusion perpetua and P2 million on members who actually participated in hazing
when under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and on non-resident or alumni who
participate in hazing
* reclusion perpetua and P3 million on those who participated in hazing that resulted
in death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation * P1 million on the school if it approved an
initiation of a fraternity, sorority or
organization where hazing occurred * prision correccional (six months to six years)
on anyone who intimidates or threatens another for recruitment. This includes
"persistent and repeated" proposals or invitations to those who refused to join at least
twice.
* P1 million for former officers or alumni who try to hide or obstruct an
investigation

If the offender is a member of the Bar, he or she shall be subject to disciplinary

proceedings by the Supreme Court. If the offender is in another profession, he or she
will be subject to regulation by the Professional Regulation Commission.