07/03/2026
๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐ ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐๐
The city government recently received from the justice department and the National Coordinating Center Against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) its Response Manual Against Trafficking in Persons and OSAEC for the city to be a partner of the national government in achieving the goal of completely ending human trafficking in the country.
Justice Assistant Secretary Michelle Ann Lapuz formally turned over the response manual to city officials led by Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong during the Monday regular flag-raising ceremony held at the city hall grounds.
In her message, Lapuz said that the present times call not just for manuals and protocols but for leadership with courage as people must stand united in saying they will not allow the indecency of human trafficking and sexual exploitation of the youth to happen in the communities.
She claimed that her agency, the lead agency of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and the National Coordinating Center Against OSAEC-CSAEM, is grateful because its partnership in the city is strong.
She warned the people about the red flags in the community, such as individuals with no stable jobs but living extravagant lifestyles or dummy accounts, which must be immediately reported to concerned authorities.
For his part, Magalong expressed the cityโs gratitude to the IACAT members led by Assistant Secretary Lapuz for the turnover of the Baguio City Response Manual on Trafficking in Persons and OSAEC-CSAEM.
He pointed out that this document represents more than policy guidelines; it is a declaration of the cityโs resolve to protect the most vulnerable members of the community, particularly the young people and the children.
He said that trafficking in persons and OSAEC are among the gravest threats to human dignity in the present times, thus, silence should no longer be an option as silence is not neutrality, silence is complacency and silence is tolerance.
According to him, the response manual should be translated into action and it should not just be pure policies, rules or laws, thus, people need to move.
He admitted that the city and the DOJ faced a lot of challenges when the manual was in the works, especially among the members of the technical working group, but at the end of the day, it's already available, thus, people must use it.
The mayor pointed out that the best thing about the manual is that the local government has proper guidelines on how to implement all the laws in relation to human trafficking as what is important is ex*****on and action not just words, not just leading, and not just paper. By Dexter A. See
