SEN. Pia Cayetano yesterday called for a Senate investigation into the proliferation of criminal syndicates engaged in the online sale of infants.
Cayetano said the appropriate Senate committee should look into the modus of the syndicates, which have been preying on vulnerable families.
“Babies are not commodities… These are heartbreaking reports that demand swift and coordinated action. The sale of children online is a gross violation of their human rights and a crime under our laws,” she said.
She said the probe would identify systemic gaps that allow such schemes to happen and ensure that concerned agencies are “equipped and coordinated in stopping this practice.”
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has flagged the rising number of cases of babies being sold by their own families due to poverty.
The National Authority for Child Care has also reported 12 Facebook groups, each having more than 200,000 followers, which are supposedly actively involved in the sale of infants via social media platforms.
Earlier this month, the PNP rescued a one-month-old baby in an entrapment operation in Pasay City where the infant was sold for P90,000 on Facebook. The operation also led to the rescue of 11 children and the arrest of 16 individuals reportedly involved in selling of babies.
Cayetano said there is a need for authorities to fully enforce the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which considers the sale of babies and adoption in exchange for money as trafficking in persons; and the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, which streamlines the adoption process to make it more accessible and affordable for Filipino families.
Both measures were authored by Cayetano.
She also called for stronger community education and digital monitoring efforts amid reports that even unborn babies are already being offered for adoption in exchange for money.
“This issue is a painful reminder of the deep poverty and desperation that some families face, but that cannot justify the exploitation of our children. We must give mothers and families real alternatives, including accessible social services and a humane, efficient adoption system,” she said.
“Our children deserve to grow up in safe, loving homes, and not be traded online marketplaces,” she added.
