Duterte to review proposed Anti-Child Trafficking Office

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his speech as he leads the groundbreaking ceremony and time capsule laying of the Naga Permanent Housing Project in Naga City, Cebu on September 6, 2019. TOTO LOZANO/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte will review a proposal to create an Anti-Child Trafficking Office to prevent child trafficking in the country.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the proposal was discussed during Wednesday (Sept. 4) night’s Cabinet meeting.

“The President will review the proposal of Special Envoy of the President to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Monica Prieto Teodoro to craft an executive order creating an Anti-Child Trafficking Office to address child trafficking in the country,” Panelo said in a statement.

This proposal comes after an American woman, Jennifer Talbot, was taken into custody at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal 3 after authorities found a baby boy inside her luggage.

Reports from the Burea of Immigration (BI) showed that the baby was not declared to immigration during departure formalities.

Authorities did not find any travel documents to indicate the infant’s information nor documents to prove she has authority to bring the baby abroad.

However, they confirmed that the infant, who is “in good health, is a six-day-old Filipino. He will be brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

On Thursday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) charged Talbot, as well as the mother of the baby, Maricris Cempron Dulap, and the unidentified biological father who remain at large, with violation of Republic Act 7610 – otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.

Talbot was also charged by the NBI’s International Airport Investigation Department with human trafficking, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.