The Philippines is sounding the alarm over a “worrying” increase in the sale of children's advertisements online, amid fears of exploitation.

The agency, through its sub-department, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), has tracked approximately two dozen Facebook accounts involved in the sale of children since last year and reported its findings to the Philippine National Police to apprehend the perpetrators. .

One case involved an eight-day-old baby who was intercepted during an undercover police entrapment operation, during which the infant's mother attempted to sell the child for 50,000 Philippine pesos (US$859). She used an agent whose asking price was 90,000 pesos.

“This trend is worrying because firstly, it is becoming more and more common. Second, this is a cruel form of child exploitation and human trafficking,” said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian during a press briefing on May 20.

According to Gatchalian, unauthorized adoptions or child laundering are covered by the expanded anti-trafficking law, which was last amended in 2022.

“Any form of adoption conducted outside the guidelines and rules of the National Child Care Authority is considered a form of human trafficking and child laundering. And it’s also clearly a violation of child exploitation laws,” Gatchalian said.

“Children should not be treated like merchandise. [Even if] you innocently allow your child to be adopted, any type of adoption conduct outside of supervision or outside of NACC guidelines is a crime.

Authorities noted that adoption and alternative child care laws have made the legal adoption process simpler and more straightforward.

“Previously, when the process went through the courts, it took five to ten years to finalize an adoption. Now the process only takes six to nine months with complete requirements,” said DSWD Undersecretary Janella Estrada.

Authorities accused the mother and agent of violating the law, while the child is now in the care of an orphanage run by Catholic nuns.

Gatchalian said the agency has contacted Meta, the company behind Facebook, about the alarming increase in these incidents, but has yet to receive a response.

“These pages have thousands of followers, and they're all set to private, so they're really checking to see if those trying to join their groups are legitimate… even when the child is still in the womb, they're already looking for agents to sell off information. child,” he said.

About 25 million Filipinos were classified as poor in the first half of 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. According to Abueva, most poor Filipino families come from large households, usually with five or more members. These phenomena are correlated with incidents of child trafficking by members of their own family.

Nearly 500,000 Filipino children were victims of sexual exploitation for profit in 2022, according to the International Justice Mission, and nearly 250,000 adults are behind this trafficking.

According to Abueva, dysfunctional family dynamics, irresponsible sexual behavior among adults and a lack of education can push parents to put their children up for adoption by selling them.

She said the practice of selling children was not limited to the Philippines and was widespread in other countries like Malaysia, with social media pages and websites offering babies “in need of a loving home.”

Besides law enforcement, a massive information campaign is also important to prevent child exploitation, Abueva said.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure children end up in safe homes,” she said.

“We also urge technology companies, experts and other ICT members [information and communications technology] sector to develop and implement effective means to not only detect but prevent illegal child adoption and online child trafficking.

“We should not act only when there are reports, because new pages and groups will continue to appear – looking for others to meet and transact with,” she said. declared.

Gatchalian hoped the incident would serve as a wake-up call for the social media platform, adding that “unregulated freedom on Facebook should come with accountability.”

“There are obviously acts that are clearly reprehensible. The problem with some people is they think it’s not regulated and they can get away with anything,” he said.

Gatchalian called on the public to report any posts regarding the sale of children on social media.

“Social media is a powerful tool if used wisely. Our appeal to the public is to help us and report if you see anything. But at the same time, we will continue to collaborate with Facebook so that it can regulate the use of its platform to some extent,” he said.