HUMAN TRAFFICKING. Officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Ilocos region grace the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum on Tuesday (Oct. 1, 2024). NBI regional director, lawyer Darwin Camilo Lising (leftmost), said human trafficking, murder, and investment scam are the usual cases they handle. (Photo screenshot from PIA Ilocos' live stream)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) warned residents of the Ilocos Region against human trafficking and scams, among the common cases in the region.
"Kung tingin ninyo nabibiktima mga anak ninyo (If you think your children are being victimized) come to the NBI and we will attend to it," said NBI Ilocos Region director Ferdinand Lavin during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum held in San Fernando City, La Union province on Tuesday, hosted by the Philippine Information Agency in Ilocos.
Lavin said they were able to intercept minors from other provinces who will be sold to foreigners.
"Ilocos Region is a rapidly growing region. There are many foreigners visiting San Juan (in La Union). There are a lot of tourists due to boosted tourism industry following the pandemic," he said in Filipino.
Lavin said most of the transactions happen online, hence the need to strengthen cybercrime prevention measures.
Cases in Pangasinan
NBI Alaminos City chief, lawyer Febienne Matib, in a phone interview, said there were two operations against child trafficking in Pangasinan province in 2023.
This, after a non-government organization filed a complaint to the NBI on the alleged selling of babies or toddlers for around PHP60,000 to PHP80,000 on social media.
Matib said parents of the kids were arrested during the entrapment operations held in Urdaneta City in October last year, and in Alaminos City the following month.
She said the parents of the then three-week old boy from Kalinga province are now detained at the Bureau of Jail Management Penology (BJMP) in Alaminos City for human trafficking charges.
However, the mother of the other boy from Davao City, a one-year old, remains at large since the prosecutor declined to accept the case for lack of evidence after officials of a mall in Urdaneta City declined to provide a copy of the CCTV footage showing the suspect.
Matib added that the posted amount in exchange for the kids is not really the final amount, noting that the amount reached PHP300,000 for the kid from Kalinga and PHP100,000 for the one from Davao City. (PNA)
