Changing the landscape of trafficking in persons: An analysis of Supreme Court decisions on human trafficking

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify, analyze and compare the Supreme Court decisions related to all forms of trafficking before and after the implementation of Republic Act 9208 otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. This is a qualitative study using content analysis research design. The study includes Supreme Court decisions regarding acts related to human trafficking before the implementation of Republic Act 9208 and after its implementation. The cases were purposively chosen depending on the relevance to the subject matter. There were two cases related to human trafficking before the implementation of Republic Act 9208 and one case after the implementation of said law. All three cases were dissected and analyzed. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the penalty imposed to violators before the implementation of Republic Act 9208 and after its implementation. However, although there has been a recent decline in the number of cases of human trafficking in the country, such decrease is not significant enough to conclude that the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 has indeed been effectively implemented. Much effort is still needed in order to protect the people from the evils of human trafficking.