MANILA — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said the government is making significant gains in the fight against human trafficking and online sex abuse.
For 2018, government figures show that Philippine law enforcement agencies rescued 90 victims, more than 72 of them are minors.
“We’re doing extremely well in combatting human trafficking especially online sexual exploitation,” Guevarra said in a message to reporters.
Of the 25 rescue operations this year, a total of 36 suspects have been arrested.
Of the 25 operations, a total of 17 were undertaken by the Philippine National Police (PNP), six were operations by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) while two were joint PNP and NBI operations.
Six of the operations were undertaken in Luzon while 10 in Visayas and nine in Mindanao.
Guevarra met recently with representatives from the United States Department of Justice, the International Justice Mission and the Salvation Arm to review past activities and to plan next year’s course of action. (Benjamin Pulta/PNA)
