Republic of the Philippines Province of Camiguin Municipality of Mambajao SANGGUNIANG BAYAN ORDINANCE NO.

_________ AN ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTING AND ENFORCING THE PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9208, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE ANTITRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT OF 2003 AND ITS IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN ACTS OR OMISSIONS VIOLATIVE OF THIS ORDINANCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
BE IT ORDAINED by the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Mambajao in regular session duly assembled, that: Section 1. Short Title. This Ordinance shall be known and/or cited as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Ordinance of Mambajao. Section 2. Statement of Policies and Principles. It is hereby declared that the local government of Mambajao values the dignity of every human person and guarantees the full respect of individual rights. Towards this end, the municipal government shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures and the development of programs that will promote human dignity and protect the people from any threats of violence and exploitation. Likewise it recognizes its role in addressing the problem of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, at the local level by instituting policies and programs to prevent, protect and rehabilitate victims of trafficking. It is also the policy of the municipal government to take a firmer stance against trafficking in persons by penalizing certain acts or omissions that can be considered as violations of this Ordinance. For this reason, the municipal government is hereby invoking the principle of local autonomy embodied in Article X of the 1987 Constitution and the plenary police power of local governments expressed in Section 16 (General Welfare Clause) of the Local Government Code, in relation to Section 16(j) of R.A. 9208, which explicitly mandates LGUs to monitor and document trafficking cases and Section 19 of its Implementing Rules and Regulations, which clearly directs LGUs to enact ordinances or issuances aimed at providing protection and support to trafficked persons and adopt measures to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons. Section 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Ordinance: (a) Trafficking in Persons refers to the recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victims consent or knowledge, within or across national borders by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude, or the removal or sale of organs. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall also be considered as trafficking in persons even if it does not involve any of the means set forth in the preceding paragraph.

(b) Child refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or one who is over eighteen (18) but is unable to fully take care of or protect himself/herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of physical or mental disability or condition. (c) Prostitution refers to any act, transaction, scheme, or design involving the use of a person by another, for sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct in exchange for money, profit or any other consideration. (d) Forced Labor and Slavery refer to the extraction of work or services from any person by means of enticement, violence, intimidation or threat, use of force or coercion, including deprivation of freedom, abuse of authority or moral ascendancy, debt-bondage or deception. (e) Sex Tourism refers to a program organized by travel and tourism-related establishments and individuals which consists of tourism packages or activities, utilizing and offering escort and sexual services as enticements for tourists. This includes sexual services and practices offered during rest and recreation periods for members of the military. (f) Sexual Exploitation refers to participation by a person in prostitution or the production of pornographic materials as a result of being subjected to a threat, deception, coercion, abduction, force, abuse of authority, debt-bondage, fraud, or through abuse of victim s vulnerability. (g) Debt Bondage refers to the pledging by the debtor of his/her personal services or labor those of a person under his/her control as security or payment for a debt, when the length and nature of services is not clearly defined or when the value of the services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt. (h) Pornography refers to any representation, through publication, exhibition, cinematography, indecent shows, information technology, or by whatever means, of a person engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a person for primarily sexual purposes. (i) Local Committee refers to the Local Committee on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children (LCATVAWC) established under Section 7 of this Ordinance. (j) Local Task Force refers to the Local Joint Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (LJTFATP) created under Section 13 of this Ordinance. (k) Council refers to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Persons (IACAT). Section 4. Acts Punishable under R.A. No. 9208. (a) The following shall be unlawful and penalized as acts of trafficking in persons: 1. To recruit, transport, transfer; harbor, provide or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sex exploitation, force labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage.

2. To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or other

consideration, any person or, as provided for under Republic Act No.6955, any Filipino woman to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading him/her for prostitution,

pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage. 3. To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading them to prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, or slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage. 4. To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting of tourism or activities for the purpose of utilizing and offering persons for prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation. 5. To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography. 6. To adopt, or facilitate the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude, or debt bondage. 7. To recruit, hire, adopt, transport or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, violence, coercion or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of organs of the said person. 8. To recruit, transport or adopt a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad. (b) The following shall also be unlawful and penalized as acts that promote trafficking in persons: 1. To knowingly lease or sublease, use or allow being used, any house, building or establishment for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons. 2. To produce, to print and issue or distribute unissued, tampered or fake counseling certificates, registration stickers and certificates of any government agency which issues these certificates and stickers as proof of compliance with government regulatory and pre-departure requirements for the purpose promoting trafficking in persons. 3. To advertise, publish, print, broadcast or distribute, or cause the advertisement, publication, printing, broadcasting or distribution by any means, including the use of information technology and the internet, of any brochure, flyer, or any propaganda material that promotes trafficking in persons. 4. To assist in the conduct of misrepresentation or fraud for purposes of facilitating the acquisition of clearances and necessary exit documents from government agencies that are mandated to provide pre-departure registration and services for departing persons for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons. 5. To facilitate, assist or help in the exit and entry of persons from/ to the country at international and local airports, territorial boundaries and seaports who are in possession of unissued, tampered or fraudulent travel documents for the purpose of promoting trafficking in persons. 6. To confiscate, conceal, or destroy the passport, travel documents or personal documents or belongings of trafficked persons in furtherance of trafficking or to prevent them from leaving the country or seeking redress from the government or appropriate agencies; and 7. To knowingly benefit from, financial or otherwise, or make use of, the labor or services or a person held to a condition of involuntary servitude, forced labor, or slavery. (c) The following are considered as qualified trafficking in persons:

1. When the trafficked person is a child; 2. When the adoption is effected through Republic Act No. 8043, otherwise known as the Inter-Country Adoption Act of 1995 and said adoption is for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; 3. When the crime is committed by a syndicate, or in large scale. Trafficking is deemed committed by a syndicate if carried out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with one another. It is deemed committed in large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons, individually or as a group; 4. When the offender is an ascendant, parent, sibling, guardian or a person who exercise authority over the trafficked person or when the offense is committed by a public officer or employee; 5. When the trafficked person is recruited to engage in prostitution with any member of the military or law enforcement agencies; 6. When the offender is a member of the military or law enforcement agencies; and 7. When by reason or on occasion of the act of trafficking in persons, the offended party dies, becomes insane, suffers mutilation or is afflicted with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). (d) Confidentiality. At any stage of the investigation, prosecution and trial of an offense under RA 9208, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court personnel and medical practitioners, as well as parties to the case, shall recognize the right to privacy of the trafficked person and the accused. Towards this end, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges to whom the complaint has been referred may, whenever necessary to ensure a fair and impartial proceeding, and after considering all circumstances for the best interest of the parties, order a closed-door investigation, prosecution or trial. The name and personal circumstances of the trafficked person or of the accused, or any other information tending to establish their identities and such circumstances or information shall not be disclosed to the public. In cases when prosecution or trial is conducted behind closed-doors, it shall be unlawful for any editor, publisher, and reporter or columnist in case of printed materials, announcer or producer in case of television and radio, producer and director of a film in case of the movie industry, or any person utilizing tri-media facilities or information technology to cause publicity of any case of trafficking in persons. (e) Any person who buys or engages the services of trafficked persons for prostitution shall be penalized for use of trafficked persons. Section 5. Penalties under R.A. No. 9208. The afore-mentioned acts shall be penalized in accordance with the provisions of Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 9208. Section 6. Role of the Local Government of Mambajao. In order to help in the international and national efforts to address the problem of trafficking in persons, the local government shall implement programs, services and activities that will contribute to the prevention, protection and rehabilitation of trafficked persons in the municipality, pursuant to Section 16(j) of R.A. No. 9208 and Section19 of its Implementing Rules and Regulations. Section 7. Implementing Agency.

(a) The Local Committee on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children (LCATVAWC) shall be the primary arm of the municipal government in the implementation of the provisions of R.A. No. 9208 and this Ordinance. Its composition shall include, but not limited to the following: Chair: The Municipal Mayor, or his/her representative Vice Chair: The Chair of the Sanggunian Committee on Women and Family Members:

Municipal Social Welfare Officer (MSWO) Municipal Planning Officer Municipal Government Operations Officer Municipal Health Officer Municipal Employment Services Officer Chief of the local Philippine National Police (PNP) President of the Liga ng mga Barangay President of the Sanggunian Kabataan Federation GAD Focal Person LCPC Representative Three (3) NGOs or faith-based organizations, which have a proven record of working for and advocating the rights and concerns of women, children and overseas Filipino workers.

(b) The committee shall convene at least once a month, and it may call for such special sessions as it may deem necessary. A majority of its members shall constitute a quorum to conduct official business. (c) The MSWO shall serve as the secretariat of the Local Committee. Section 8. Functions of the Local Committee. The existing Local Committee on Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children shall address and consider the following agenda, in addition to its present functions and duties: a. Formulate the comprehensive and integrated municipal program to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons b. Coordinate the implementation of the municipal governments programs and activities on anti-trafficking, as enumerated under Sections 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of this Ordinance c. Discuss with neighboring LGUs the viability of grouping together and pooling resources for a more effective delivery of the mandatory services under RA 9208 d. Recommend relevant policies or legislative measures to the Sanggunian Bayan e. Lead the preparations and activities for the celebration of December 12 of every year as National Day Against Trafficking f. Conduct and/or provide for the training of LGU personnel involved in antitrafficking programs and/or activities persons h. Submit an annual report to the Council i. Perform such other related functions or tasks as may be imposed by law or ordinance.

g. Establish a sex- and age-disaggregated data base on cases of trafficking in

Section 9. Monitor and document cases of trafficking in persons.

(a) The municipal government shall monitor and document cases of trafficking in persons within its territorial jurisdiction. (b) Any person who has any knowledge or learns of facts or circumstances that give rise to a reasonable belief that a person will be, or may be, or has been trafficked shall immediately report the same, either orally or in writing or through other means to the Local Committee, the nearest police or law enforcement agency, or the Municipal Social Welfare Office (MSWO). (c) The Municipal Health Office shall likewise assist in the monitoring function by reporting to the police or law enforcement officers or the MSWO any suspected cases of trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation, incident to the conduct of the STD/HIV/AIDS monitoring test, daily hygiene check-up and other similar medical examinations. (d) The concerned local government officers shall also contribute to the monitoring function by reporting to the police or law enforcement officers or the MSWO any suspected cases of trafficking in persons for purposes of forced labor, slavery or involuntary servitude, incident to the conduct of inspection of sweatshops, poultry, piggery and other agricultural structures, or other labor-intensive establishments. (e) All other local agencies or offices, including barangays, receiving reports of suspected cases of trafficking within the municipality, shall furnish the MSWO with an incident report for monitoring and documentation purposes. (f) The MSWO shall document a reported case of trafficking in persons in all its stages up to its termination. Section 10. Reportorial Duty. The LCATVAWC, through the MSWO, shall submit an annual report to the IACAT on the situation of trafficking in persons within the municipality, as well as on the policies and programs instituted to respond to the problem. Section 11. Visitation Powers. (a) As an incident to its mandated duty under Section 9 of this Ordinance, the municipal government shall conduct inspection, in coordination with proper authorities, of houses, buildings, or establishments reported as being used for trafficking activities. (b) The unjustifiable refusal of the owner or person in charge of any house, building, or establishment to submit the same for inspection by municipal authorities shall give rise to the prima facie presumption of willfully impeding and/or obstructing the mandated duty of the municipal government to monitor and document trafficking cases, and may expose said owner or person in charge to possible prosecution for violation of this Ordinance. (c) The Local Committee shall formulate the proper guidelines and protocols that will be observed in the exercise of this power, in order to ensure compliance. Section 12. Cancellation of licenses of establishments which violate the provisions of R.A. No. 9208. (a) The Office of the Municipal Mayor shall effect the cancellation or revocation of the business permits and/or licenses of any individual or establishment found to have violated the provisions of R.A. No. 9208. (b) All individuals or establishments applying for new business permits and/or licenses or applying for renewal thereof shall sign a written undertaking that they shall not employ minors and women who are victims of trafficking. Bars, nightclubs, videoke/KTV bars, and other similar establishments providing adult amusement or

entertainment, as well as sweatshops, poultry, piggery and other agricultural structures, or other labor-intensive establishments, shall be required to keep copies of National Statistics Office (NSO) authenticated birth certificates of all employees as proof of age. (c) All boarding houses, pension houses, dormitories and similar establishments that provide temporary or permanent lodging facilities for the purpose of generating any rental/lease income, shall be required to apply for business permits and/or licenses. The owner, proprietor or manager of any such establishment applying for new business permits and/or licenses or applying for renewal thereof, shall sign a written undertaking that they shall not engage in any acts, which promote trafficking such as, but not limited to, allowing the use of their premises to traffickers and their victims. The owner, manager or proprietor of such establishment shall have the mandatory duty to report suspected cases of trafficking to the LCATVAWC. (d) The refusal and/or failure to sign the above-mentioned undertaking, or the subsequent violation of the same, or the failure to keep employees birth certificates as required under paragraph (b), or the possession of falsified birth certificates in the records of employment, shall constitute a ground for the immediate denial or cancellation of the business permit and/or license of the individual or establishment concerned. Section 13. Ensure effective prosecution of trafficking cases. (a) The municipal government shall ensure the effective prosecution of cases of trafficking in persons committed within its territorial jurisdiction. (b) For this purpose, there shall be created a Local Joint Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (LJTFATP) to be composed of: (1) the Municipal Attorney, or in his/her absence, the Chair of the sanggunian committee on peace and order, as chair, and (2) one personnel/representative each from the municipal police office, regional office of the Bureau of Immigration, regional office of the National Bureau of Investigation, regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Municipal Social Welfare Office, Office of the State or Municipal Prosecutor, and at least three (3) non-government organizations with a track record in working and/or advocating on the issue of trafficking in persons. (c) The Local Task Force shall coordinate all efforts in the conduct of surveillance, investigation and rescue operations of trafficking cases. It shall likewise closely collaborate with the LCATVAWC in the formulation of plans and programs for the prevention and/or reduction of trafficking in persons. For this purpose, the Local Task Force shall convene at least once a month. (d) Within one (1) month from the adoption of this Ordinance, the LCATVAWC shall convene a meeting with all the members of the Local Task Force for the specific purpose of developing the guidelines and protocols for the effective coordination in the conduct of surveillance, investigation and rescue operations on trafficking in persons. (e) To facilitate the successful prosecution of trafficking cases, the LCATVAWC shall establish a witness protection and support services program for victims of trafficking that shall include, but not be limited to, the establishment of a safe house for rescued victims, basic welfare and legal services, incentives in the form of financial support or alternative livelihood opportunities. Section 14. Deputizing the barangays. (a) The municipal government may deputize the barangays in maintaining registries of local residents recruited for employment elsewhere, their respective destinations, the identities of the recruiters, and other relevant data.

(b) The barangays may likewise be authorized to require all prospective recruiters to first apply for a barangay permit before engaging in any recruitment activities in their respective areas of responsibility. Section 15. Information campaign against trafficking in persons. (a) The municipal government shall undertake an information campaign against trafficking in persons through the establishment at the municipal hall of the Migrant Advisory and Information Network (MAIN) desks, in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), NGOs and other concerned agencies, organizations and individuals. (b) The municipal government shall conduct information dissemination activities at the barangay level and coordinate such activities with the BCPCs and the DILG. Information dissemination activities shall likewise be conducted in schools, churches and communities. (c) In partnership with the PIA, the municipal government shall produce and publish information, education and communication materials about trafficking in persons such as, but shall not be limited to, primers, flyers, brochures, posters, stickers, television/radio/print advertisements, and websites, which shall be made available in piers, ports, airports, bus and jeepney terminals, and other similar places where acts of trafficking may be committed and/or facilitated. Section 16. Encourage and support community-based initiatives. (a) The municipal government shall encourage and support community-based initiatives which address the issue of trafficking in persons. (b) It shall provide financial support and technical assistance to BCPCs and qualified and accredited NGOs and POs that are engaged in activities for the protection, recovery and reintegration of victims of trafficking. Section 17. Mandatory services to trafficked persons. (a) Pursuant to Section 23 of R.A. No. 9208, the municipal government shall, in coordination with the concerned government agencies, make available the following mandatory services to trafficked persons. 1. Emergency shelter or appropriate housing 2. Counseling 3. Free legal services, which shall include information about the victims rights and the procedure for filing complaints, claiming compensation and such other legal remedies available to them, in a language understood by the trafficked person 4. Medical or psychological services 5. Livelihood and skills training 6. Educational assistance to a trafficked child. (b) The Municipal Social Welfare Office shall be the lead agency in the coordination and provision of (1), (2), (4), (5) and (6). On the other hand, the Municipal Attorneys Office shall lead in providing (3). (c) All efforts shall be made to ensure that the above services will be rendered in child-friendly and gender-sensitive manner.

Section 18. Enactment of supplemental ordinances and issuances. The municipal government shall formulate and promulgate supplemental ordinances, resolutions or executive issuances aimed at providing support to trafficked persons, and adopt necessary measures to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons within its territorial jurisdiction. Section 19. Strengthening of existing bodies. The municipal government shall exert efforts to strengthen, activate and mobilize existing committees, councils, similar organizations and special bodies at the local level to prevent and suppress trafficking in persons Section 20. Penalties and Sanctions for Violations of this Ordinance. The following acts or omissions shall be deemed violations of this Ordinance and shall be subject to the imposition of the corresponding penal sanctions:

a. Any public official/officer who has any knowledge or learns of facts or

circumstances that give rise to a reasonable belief that a person will be, or may be, or has been trafficked, and fails to immediately report such to the LCATVAWC or other concerned agencies shall be penalized with a fine of P 2, 500.00 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months.

b. If the offender above is a private person, the penalty shall be a fine of P2,
500.00 or imprisonment not exceeding 3 months.

c. The owner, manager, or person in charge of any house, building, or

establishment who refuses, without justifiable reason, to submit said premises for inspection by municipal authorities as provided under Section 11 of this Ordinance shall be penalized, at the first instance, with immediate cancellation of the corresponding business permit and/or license issued by the municipal government. At the second instance, the offender shall be punished for willfully impeding and/or obstructing the mandated duty of the municipal government to monitor and document trafficking cases, with a fine of P2, 500.00 or imprisonment of 1 month.

d. The unjustifiable refusal and/or failure to sign the written undertaking

required under Section 12 (b) and (c) of this Ordinance, or the subsequent violation of the same, or the failure to keep employees birth certificates as required under Section 12 (b), or the possession of falsified birth certificates in the records of employment, shall be penalized, at the first instance, with immediate cancellation of the corresponding business permit and/or license issued by the municipal government. At the second instance, the offender shall be punished with a fine of P2, 500.00. Section 21. Rewards and Incentives. (a) The Local Committee shall institute an incentive scheme whereby monetary rewards may be given to persons who provide vital information that lead to the prevention or suppression of trafficking activities and to the apprehension of offenders involved therein. (b) Likewise, awards and recognition shall be given to persons, organizations, or establishments that champion or support activities which contribute to the prevention or suppression of trafficking in persons. Section 22. Appropriation. The initial amount of ___________________Pesos is hereby appropriated out of the General Fund (Statutory Obligations) of the Municipal Treasury to cover the first-year implementation of this Ordinance. Thereafter, the amount equivalent to 10% of the Gender and Development (GAD) funds from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and 10% of GAD funds from any

Official Development Assistance (ODA) shall constitute the annual budget of the LCATVAWC for purposes of implementing this Ordinance. The funds allocated for this purpose shall accrue exclusively to the program, in accordance with the guidelines on the matter issued by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW). Section 23. Repealing Clause. All ordinances, resolutions, executive issuances, or rules and regulations, or parts thereof, whose provisions are inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance, are hereby deemed repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. Section 24. Applicability Clause. - The provisions of existing ordinances, resolutions, or executive orders dealing with related subject matter such as protection against child labor and exploitation, anti-violence against women and children, and the like, which are not contradictory with this Ordinance, are hereby adopted as an integral part of this Ordinance. Section 25. Separability Clause. If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Ordinance is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected thereby. Section 26. Effectivity. This Ordinance shall take effect after thirty (30) days from the date of completion of its review by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and its publication in a newspaper of local circulation.