Human Trafficking: Warning Signs for OFWs

The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (Republic Act No. 9208, as amended by RA 10364 and RA 11862) defines trafficking in three parts. In People v. Casio (2014), the Supreme Court described the elements of trafficking under the law's definition this way:

1. The act: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, "with or without the victim's consent or knowledge, within or across national borders".
2. The means: threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or giving or receiving payments to get the consent of a person who has control over another.
3. The purpose: exploitation, which includes prostitution or other sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs.

As amended, the definition also covers obtaining, hiring, providing, offering and maintaining persons.

These are acts the law itself punishes, with the section of RA 9208 as amended:

• Recruitment under the pretext of a job abroad. Section 4(a) punishes recruiting, transporting or receiving a person by any means, "including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship", for prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.
• Forced labor through fear. Section 4(j) covers schemes meant to make a person believe that if he or she stops working, he or she or another person "would suffer serious harm or physical restraint", or schemes that abuse or threaten the use of the law or legal processes.
• Recruiting minors for work abroad. Section 4(m) punishes recruiting, transporting or deploying a child "for deployment abroad as migrant worker". For overseas domestic work, a "child" means a person below 24 years old. When the victim is a child, the means (such as force or deception) do not have to be shown.
• Fake or tampered papers. Section 5(b) punishes producing or distributing unissued, tampered or fake passports, birth certificates, affidavits of delayed registration of birth, travel clearances, overseas employment certificates and similar documents to promote trafficking.
• Leaving without the required documents. Section 5(e) punishes helping persons exit through airports, seaports or borders knowing they lack the required travel documents, or carry tampered, fake or fraudulently acquired ones.
• Attempted trafficking. Section 4-A punishes acts that begin a trafficking offense even if it is not completed. For a child, this includes facilitating the travel of a child traveling alone abroad without valid reason and without the required DSWD clearance or the parent's or guardian's written permit.

Before dealing with a recruiter, you can check whether an agency appears on the official DMW list through our guide to checking an agency and the DMW agency list. That list shows license status only; it does not say whether a particular offer is lawful.

No. Section 17, as amended by RA 10364, says trafficked persons "shall not be penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of, or as an incident or in relation to, being trafficked", and that their consent to the intended exploitation "shall be irrelevant".

In People v. Casio (2014), the Supreme Court said that "trafficking in persons can still be committed even if the victim gives consent", because consent "is rendered meaningless due to the coercive, abusive, or deceptive means employed by perpetrators". Casio was a case in Cebu City, not an overseas case, but the rule on consent is general.

In People v. Lalli (2011), the Court affirmed convictions for both illegal recruitment and trafficking in persons committed by a syndicate, in a case where a woman was offered work abroad as a restaurant entertainer, made to use her sister's passport, and then forced into prostitution. The same scheme can lead to more than one crime.

Under Section 10 of RA 9208, as amended:

Trafficking is qualified, among other grounds, when committed by a syndicate (three or more persons conspiring) or in large scale (against three or more persons), when it lasts at least 60 days, when committed during a crisis, disaster or pandemic, or when committed through information and communications technology or a computer system.

A conviction automatically revokes the license or registration of the recruitment agency involved. Under RA 11862, a recruitment or manning agency that recruited or deployed an underage migrant worker has its license automatically revoked and is fined ₱1,000,000 to ₱3,000,000 per underage worker, with a refund of all processing fees.

Trafficking cases prescribe in 10 years, or 20 years if committed by a syndicate, in large scale or against a child (Section 12, as amended).

Illegal recruitment is a separate crime under other laws, with its own penalties; this page covers trafficking only. See illegal recruitment and its penalties.

The 2022 implementing rules (Section 6) say a report may be made to barangay authorities, the Local Council for the Protection of Children, the local anti-trafficking committee, the local social welfare and development office, the nearest police or other law enforcement agency, or any member of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT). A report may also be made to the IACAT Anti-Trafficking Task Force and the "IACAT 1343 Action Line". The rules also give the Commission on Filipinos Overseas a 24/7 hotline, the 1343 Actionline (Section 140).

See also the topic page on OFW legal rights.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Jenny, 22, is offered a domestic helper job in the Middle East by a neighbor, who says she can leave as a tourist and "fix the papers there" if she pays a fee and uses a cousin's birth certificate. For overseas domestic work, anyone below 24 counts as a child under Section 4(m), so the means do not have to be proven. Using fake or borrowed civil documents to promote trafficking is covered by Section 5(b).

Three friends from Iloilo are recruited together for a "massage therapist" job abroad by a group of four people, and are then exploited. With three or more victims and three or more offenders, the facts point to qualified trafficking, punished by life imprisonment and a fine of ₱2,000,000 to ₱5,000,000.

Rico is told his plane ticket debt must be "worked off". His employer keeps his passport and threatens to have him arrested if he leaves. Section 4(j) covers schemes that make a person believe he will suffer serious harm or legal trouble if he stops working. Under Section 17, he is treated as a victim for acts done because he was trafficked.

If you or a family member may be a victim, report to the authorities listed above. Talk to a lawyer if you want to file a criminal complaint, claim damages or recover fees, or if you were charged for acts done while being trafficked. For contract claims after working abroad, see OFW illegal dismissal and unexpired contract.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.