THE CURRENT SITUATION OF AND COUNTERMEASURESAGAINST TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Severino H. Gaña, Jr.*I. INTRODUCTION
The end of the Cold War and the rapid
p a c e o f g lo b a li z a t i o n h a s p r o v i d e dopportunities for criminals and organizedcrime groups to globalize their illegala ctivitie s, thus they have led to theemergence of all forms of transnational
crimes and led to the development of new
security threats. These new threa ts
include various types of transnationalorganized crime, such as trafficking inpersons, international terrorism, money
laundering, intellectual property rights
violation, illicit trafficking of drugs,
piracy on the high seas, illicit traffickingof firearms, and cy bercrim e. This
globalization has also led countries totake new security adjustments/
arrangements as organized transnational
crime exploit these advances intechnology, services, and communication.
These incidences of the varioustransnational crimes, at least within thePhilippines, has created a significant
impact on its political, economic andsocio-cultural stability and security.
II. PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE
A. Trafficking in Persons
H uman traffick ing refers to th e
recruitment, transportation, transfer,harboring, or receipt of persons, by threator use of fo rce, b y ab ductio n, f ra ud,
deception, coercion or the abuse of power* Assistant Chief State Prosecutor,
Department of Justice,
Republic of the Philippines

or by the giving or receiving of payments
or benefits for the purpose of exploitation.
Persons may be trafficked for the purposeof prostitution, other sexual exploitationo r f o r c e d l a b o r . W h e n t h e p ra c t ic e
involves coercion or deceit, consent of thevictim is not an issue.
Human smuggling on the other hand is
the procurement of illegal entry or illegal
residence of a person into a state of which
the latter person is not a national or apermanent resident in order to obtain,
directly or indirectly, financial or otherm a t e ri a l b e n e f i t . C hi ld r e n r e f e r t opersons’ under eighteen years of age.
The Philippines is a major source ofp e o p l e t ha t a r e t ra f f i c k e d t o o th e r
countries with able economies. In Europe
alo ne, a l mo s t 7 0 5 ,4 3 9 Fi l i pi n o s a reundocumented and most of them are
victims o f trafficking, reportedly
perp etrated by Philipp ine-basedorgan ized crime g roups that h ave
contacts with similar criminal syndicatesin the receiving country. Their operation
ru ns para llel w ith th e con tin uing
deployment of documented O versea s
Filipino Workers (OFWs) to fill in the
manpower requirements of developed
countries and at the same time to solve
the soaring unemployment problem of thecountry. Aggravating this scenario is thepresence of some unscrupulous foreigners
who reportedly exploit Filipino womenand children ranging from pedophilia to
sex trafficking and prostitution,
especially those sent abroad for the same
reason.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
From 1995 to early 2000, 751 cases ofhuman trafficking were recorded. Most of
the victims come from Region III (11%),
NCR (10%) and Region IV (9%). Of the
66% of women victims, 18% were forced
into prostitution. Furthermore, 51% weretrafficked to the Asia-Pacific, 27% to theMiddle East, and 19% to Europe.
Table 1Preliminary Review of Human
Trafficking and Smuggling Cases in
the Philippines (1995 to Early 2000)

As of December 2000, based on a reportf r o m th e C o m m i s s i o n o n F i li p i n o sOverseas (CFO), there are already 7.38
million Overseas Filipinos of which 2.99
million are documented and 1.84 million
are products of irregular migration. A
significant number are victims of all
forms of human trafficking andsm uggling while m ore than half are“informed victims” (58%) who voluntarily
went out of the country on the strength offraudulent travel documents or false
identities or travel abroad as tourists,
pilgrims, students, or any other lawful
mea ns but prolong their stay in the
country of destination in their attempt tofind jobs and earn more wages even after
the expiration of their appropriate visas,thus categorizing them as undocumented
or illegal migrants. Almost 10% of cases
involved intermarriages. Other mode
includes introduction through pen pal
clubs, marriage bureaus, and theInternet.

Recorded cases of humantrafficking (1995 to early 2000)

751
cases

Increase in trafficking cases in
1999

37%

Victims coming from Region
III

11%

Victims coming from NCR

10%Victims coming from Region IV

9%

Women victims

66%

Women forcibly put into
prostitution

18%

Forced to work in slavery-like
conditions

42%

Trafficked to Asia Pacific51%

Trafficked to the Middle East

27%

Total Number ofOverseas Filipinos

Trafficked to Europe

19%

OFWs

2.99 M

Permanent Residents

2.55 M

Irregular

1.84 M

Victims aware of what they
were getting into

58%

Victims that were deceived

42%

Victims that were recruited byparties not related/unknown to
them

53%

Victims that were repatriatedby the Philippine Government

31%* Philippine embassies andconsulates noted cases of wholesale
recruitment at the barangays/local
communities

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Table 2Estimated Number of Overseas
Filipinos as of December 2000
7.38 Million

The CFO reports the top regions ofdestination of undocumented Filipinos
are America, South and East Asia, thePacific, Europe, the Middle East andAfrica. Top ten countries of destination of
undocumented Filipinos in chronologicalorder include the United States,
Singapore, Canada, Japan, Italy, United
Kingdom, Saudi A rabia, Greece,
Germany and France. However,according to the reports, within the lastquarter 2000 and during the first quarter

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
of 2001 reveal the increasing incidencesof irregular migration in all its forms tocountries such as Jordan, Malaysia, Italy,
and Japan which may drastically change
to order of arrangement by the end of thisyear if such trend remains unabated.
Transit countries being used in goingto states of destination include mostmembers of ASEAN, countries in Eastern
Europe and just recently Morocco. Most ofthese transit countries have no visar e qu ir e m e n t s f o r e n te r in g F i lip in onationals thus complicating the problemof irregular migration. Apart from this,the Eastern European countries, being
newly independent and sovereign states,
have yet to formulate and strictly enforce
their immigration policies and laws to
discourage human trafficking syndicatesa s w e ll as il le g a l i m m i gr a nt s f ro m
turning them as transit countries inentering Western Europe.
The Philippines is being utilized also
as a transit and destination country as
w e l l. R e c e n t a p p r e h e ns i o n s b y t h e
B u re a u o f I m m ig ra t i o n r e ve a l t h a t
Iranian, Bangladesh and Chinese
nationals are using the Philippines as atransit point to other countries such as
J a p a n, C a na d a , Un i t ed S t a t es, a n dAustralia. Indian nationals, on the other
hand, are illegally entering the country toestablish illegal business such as lending
with exorbitant interests.
Below is a list of identified seaports
used to smuggle persons in and out, both
Filipinos and aliens:
•
•
•
•
•

Iloco Sur (Salomague Island)Zamboanga del Sur (Zambo Port,
Digos, Bauin Point
Davao del Sur (Davao Gulf, Digos
Point, Panabo Port)
Bicol (Pio Duran, Albay)
Dagupan City

The nationalities of those involved inhuman trafficking in the Philippines aremostly Filipinos with contacts in transit
and destination countries. Others include
Malaysians who have been assisting
Indians to enter the country via thesouthern backdoor, Nauru and Kiribati
nationals who have been facilitating theentry into the country of undocumented
Chinese as well as Chinese, Taiwaneseand Hong Kong nationals.
The follow ing are some significant
cases:
1. “Baby Tanya” Case
This is a case of smuggling throughadoption by using spurious supporting
documents and false statements of John
L o p e z a n d M a r ia E l l a C a rr i o n w h opresented themselves as the biologicalparents of the child, Baby Tanya
Samantha Lopez. However, upon arrivalin the U.S., the INS upon receipt of reportfrom the U.S . Emba ss y t ha t the
documents and statements presented andexecuted by Ms. Carrion and Mr. Lopez
were not true, held Baby Tanya. Tanya
Samantha was repatriated on June 16,
2001 and is now under the custody of theDSWD. The case is now with theD e p a r tm e nt o f J u stic e , u nd e r go ing
preliminary investigation.
2. “Kimber” Case
This is the complaint filed by the PCTCand Mr. James H. Kimber (complainant)against respondents William S.
McKnight, Lilian U. McKnight, Rudelyn
P. Uriarte and Elvira U. Mandap dated
January 6, 2000 for violation of Republic
A ct N o . 6 95 5 M a i l O r de r B ri d e a nd
Estafa.
Mr. James H Kimber, corresponded tothe advertisement of the Pacific Islands
Connection to meet girls in thePhilippines he could marry, choosing

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
Rudelyn P. Uriarte, 16 years old andsister-in-law of William McKnight. He,
upon arrangement m ade b y W illia m
McKnight, married Rudelyn. He returnedto the United States without his wife,
Rudelyn, with the assurance that his wife
would join him after six months. The
promise was not fulfilled. He sought help
from concerned agencies of both the US
and the Philippines. He later learned that
their marriage was never registered andthat Rudelyn was married to anotherforeigner named Howard W. Gardner. He
formally filed a case against the
responde nts. The tour and travel
operation of McKnight was put underinvestigation.
3. “Marilou Pontana et al” Case
This is a case of trafficking women
through illegal recruitme nt. The
respondents, Evelyn A. Tuprio and Grace
Cervantes, recruited young girl victims in
the guise of domestic helpers but theyw er e late r utilize d as sex slav es in
Malaysia. Their illegal activities werebusted when police operatives intercepted
four young victims holding tampered
documents on board a vessel bound for
Malaysia.
B. Terrorism
Terrorism is “the use of violence, threat
or intimidation, or destruction of lives
and properties by any other means, withthe objective of creating a state of fear in
the public mind to achieve a purported
political end; or to coerce or to influence
their be havior; or to und ermine theconfidence of the general public on thegovernment.”
The Philip pines’ experience oninternational terrorism was first felt as
early as 1985 when international
terrorist groups attempted to establish afoothold in our country. They were able tostage terrorist activities and tried to432

establish their cells in the country but
were later on neutralized. These groups
which ca m e to the Philip pine s withbarely three years interval, wereidentified as the Abu Nidal Organization(ANO), the Japanese Red Army (JRA),the Iraqi terrorists, the Ramzi Yousef
Terrorist Cell, the Liberation of Tigers
Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the recent Free
Vietnam Revolutionary Group (FVRG).
1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
In 1985, some members of the group,
using student visas, have reportedly
slipped into the Philippines on a
recruitment and indoctrination mission.
It was also recorded that during that time
t he re w e re a b ou t 3 ,0 0 0 Pa l e s t in i a n
students enrolled in different colleges andUniversities in Metro Manila. The local
members of this gro up rem ained
unidentified up to December 1987 when
the police arrested five members. The
arrest led to the d iscovery o f ANO ’s
attempts to organize terrorist cells in the
country to be employed in the Asia nregion.
2. Japanese Red Army
On November 15, 1986, the ManilaJRA cell conducted a joint operation with
the New Peoples’ Army (NPA), known as
the “Operation Customer” in kidnapping
Nobuyuki Wakaoji of Mitsui Corporation(Philippines).
Investigation revealed that three topra nking ca dr es of the N PA - G ene ra lCommand in close coordination with two
JRA members were responsible for theplanning, execution and supervision of
the said operation. Wakaoji was releasedin December 1986 in Quezon City after
paying 3M US dollars to the kidnappers.
3. Ramzi Yousef Terrorist Cell
On January 7, 1995, police authorities
arrested Abdul Hakim Murad, a119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
Pa kistani na tiona l in one of theapartments in Manila. M urad was amember of an international terroristgroup planning to kill Pope John Paul II
on his scheduled visit to Manila fromJanuary 10–15 for the Celebration of theWorld Youth Day. Pieces of evidence
recovered revealed the group’s plan tobomb U.S commercial airlines plying theManila - Hong Kong - Los Angeles. route.
This plot was to be the centerpiece of theso-called “Oplan Bojinka” which was ani n t r i c a t e n e t w o r k o f in t e r n a ti o n a lterrorists using the Philippines as avenue of their terrorists activities. The
bombing of a Philippine Airlines jetbound for Japan from Cebu on December
11, 1994 was a test-run to Oplan Bojinka.
It can b e recalled that one Japanesenational was killed while several others
were wounded during the incident.
4. Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group(FVRG) Terrorist Cell
The presence of this terrorist cell wasrecently discovered with the arrest of Vu
Van Doc, a U. S. citizen of Vietnameseo rigin, Huynh Thua n Ngo c, a S w iss
citizen of Vietnamese origin and Makoto
Ito, a Japanese national on August 30,
2001. One of the arrested suspects, Vu
Van Doc, who operates a terrorist cell in
the Philippines is a member of the Free
Vietnam Revolutionary Group (FVRG),
the military arm of the Government ofFree Vietna m (GFV), a w or ldw ideorganization engaged in liberating theRepublic of Vietnam from communist
rule.
The arrested suspects were reportedlyplanning to conduct bombing activities
targeting the Vietnamese Embassy in
Manila on or before September 2, 2001,
which is the National Day of the Republicof Vietnam.

C. Money Laundering
In the Philippines, the problem has its
own dimension. The perception that thePhilippine s is a haven for money
laundering is supported by data. The US
Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network reported that thePhilippines ranked second among 15 noncooperative jurisdictions in terms of thenumber of suspicious activities relating tofinancial transactions from April to July
1996 . D ur in g th is p e r io d , t he to ta lnumber of reports on suspicious activities
filed reached 566, second only to Russia,
which reported a total of 847.
Since drug trafficking is a lucrative
business in the country, money
laundering becomes the parallel activityof drug syndicates. It is further
aggravated with the absence of punitive
laws for this crime. The proceeds from theillicit drugs industry in the country
reaches P 265 billion annually, about 8
percent of the local economy’s output androughly a third of the go ve rnm ent’s
budget this year. Another source of dirty
money cleaned through the country’s
financial system is through corruption.
Transparency International, using its“corruption perception index,” ranks thePhilippines as the 65th least corrupt outof 91 countries. The Office of the
Ombudsman, the agency tasked to run
a f te r co r r up t g o ve r nm en t o f f ic ia ls,
estimates that about Php100 million is
being lost daily to corruption. The figure
is actually closer to about Php150 billion
a year or Php278 million a day. Based on
this data alone, graft and corruption in alarger scale is so pervasive that it iscapable of triggering money laundering.
The Philippines’ efforts to be taken outof the list suffered from the scandal that
erupted over allegations of corruption
and money laundering involving theformer President Joseph Estrada who

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
allegedly stashed from P10 billion to P15
billion in payoffs from operators of the“jueteng” illegal numbers game,kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes andquestionable government investments
during his 31 months in office. He wasarrested and jailed for plunder, a nonbailable offense punishable by death aswell as the Jose Velarde scandal, where
Estrada allegedly used a false name tolaunder illegally acquired wealth. In
testimonies given to the Senate last year,
key witnesses provided details on how
E strada allegedly am assed and“legitim ized ” dirty m oney using thefinancial system. In yet another case ofmoney laundering in the Philippines, ano ff icia l of E quit ab l e PCI B a nk I nc.,
disclosed that Yolanda Ricaforte, thealleged auditor for the “jueteng” payoffs
to Estrada, deposited more than Php200
million in the bank’s six branches inMetro Manila.

The preva lence of softw are pira cy
among selected countries in Asia/Pacificin 2000 are identified as follows:

D. Intellectual Property Rights“Intellectual property” is a property
interest in an idea or creation granted by
the crea tion of la w. It exists only incountries that recognize laws on
intellectual property rights.

T h e I n te r n a t i o n a l P l a n n i n g a n d
Research Corporation (IPRC), in a study
commissioned by Business So ftw are
Alliance (BSA), to review available data
and to utilize systematic methodology todetermine worldwide business softwarepiracy and associated dollar losses, hasnoted that the world piracy rate in 2000
has increased to 37%, and dollar losses
have reached a total of US$11.75 billion
worldwide. The Asia/Pacific region inparticular has increased its piracy rate to
51% and a loss of over US$4 billion in
2000.

The Annu al B S A G lo b al S o ftw a rePiracy Study, which involves the
S o f tw a re a nd Inf o rm a tion I nd ustry
Association (SIIA), confirms that thecountry’s piracy rate decreased from 77%
in 1998 to 70% in 1999 and eventually to
61% last year, causing the Philippines tohave the second lowest piracy rate among
Southeast Asian countries. Despite thedrop of the country’s piracy rate,
however, the software industry continues
to suffer an annual loss amounting toP1.3 billion in revenues due to softwarepiracy.

434

Table 3
Vietnam

97%

China

94%

Indonesia

89%

Thailand

79%

India

63%

Philippines

61%

Hong Kong

57%

Korea

56%

Singapore

50%

Japan

37%

Australia

33%

New Zealand28%(Source: Sixth Annual BSA
Global Piracy Study, 2000)

The Asia-Pacific sustains the mostdollar losses, followed by Western Europe
and North America (see the following forth e d i str ib u tio n o f d o ll a r l os se s b yregion).

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERSDOLLAR LOSSES BY REGION - 2000 (BSA)
3%
3%
26%

East Europe

7%

Mid/East Af rica
Latin America

36%
25%

Asia/PacificNorth America
Western Europe(Source: Sixth Annual BSA Global Software Piracy Study, 2000)
According to the data from the Internationa l Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition(IACC), trademark counterfeiting is ahighly profitable tax-free business.

Below is the pattern of distribution ofcounterfeit goods of organized crimegroups by region:(Source: International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition)
It must be noted as well that mostcounterfeit products are often sold at athird of its original price or even cheaper.
In this regard, wholesalers and retailers
are having second thoughts in procuring
legitimate items over the pirated ones.

E. Drug Trafficking
Drug trafficking refers to the act of
tra nspo rting a nd e ve ntua lly se lling
illega l drug substances. A d iversiono c c ur s w he n d r ug s le g a ll y s h ip p e deventually end up on the hands of drugtraffickers and syndicate groups and soldin the illegal market.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
The drug problem in the Philippines
resurrected in the latter part of the 1960’s
w it h m a ri ju a n a , va liu m , m e r c o d o l,mogadon, madrax, opium and heroin as
the popular drugs of abuse. Even after
the execution of drug smuggler Lim Sengin 1972 which tremendously cut off the
supply of heroin entering the country,
there were already 20,000 drug users.
This number increased by more thantwelve times in 1980. It was during thisyear when the smuggling of hashish andmogadon tablets into the country and theexportation of marijuana wereperpetrated by foreigners. In 1981, thecountry became a transit point for heroin
and cocaine and as a consequence, drug
users increased to about 312,000. In
1983, the drug pr oblem started totranscend international borders even as
drug users continue to increase at a rapid
p a ce w ith co rex- d, hylorin, o rna col,peracon, DM, and lagaflex as additional
drugs of abuse. At that time there werealready 343,750 drug users.
The production and exporta tion of
marijuana increased during the following
y e a r . I t w a s a ls o a t t hi s t im e t h a t
m etham pheta mine hydro chloride or
shabu manifested its presence as one of
the growing popular drugs of abuse.
Thus, the government intensified its
campaign against the drug problem basedon a three-pronged approach namely law
e n f o r c e m e n t, p r e v e n tiv e e d u c a t io n
cam paign and treatment andrehabilitation programme. Even so, theproblem remained unabated such thatprior to the restoration of the d ea thpenalty on December 13, 1993, there werealready 800,000 drug abusers with asignificant number concentrated in Metro
Manila.
The
drug
users
comprised
approximately 5% or 3.7 million of the 74

436

million Filipinos of which according to the
NDLEPCC echoing the survey of the
National Youth Commission (NYC), 7%
or approximately 1.2 million of the total
youth population of 17 million aged 15 to
2 9 w e r e d r u g u s e r s a n d m o re th a n
500,000 were in need of rehabilitation.
Unfortunately, only 5,098 are treated in
the 26 public and private drug
rehabilitation centers throughout thecountry.
The drug pushers on the other hand
are roughly placed at 560,000 in Metro
Manila alone victimizing about a million
dr ug d ep end en ts a ggra va te d b y t heinv olv em e nt o f 83 d r ug syn d icate s.
Foreign criminal syndicates mostly run
the local drug trafficking business with
62% of their activities conducted in the
Metro Manila area. The local illegal drugtrade is worth about P251 billion and islikely to increase as the Philippines isgradually emerging as a major transit
point for drugs and as a producer ofm a r iju a n a f o r e xp o r t t o co n su m i n g
countries.
Narcotics operations conducted b ydifferent drug law enforcement agencies
nationwide for year 2000 resulted in thearrest of 36,753 persons and the filing of
14,258 drug cases in various courts. The
total value of drugs seized for that year
was pegged at 3,994,264,482.00 billion.
The tables below illustrate the gains of all
operating drug law enforcement agencies
for the year 2000.

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
VISITING EXPERTS’ PAPERS
Comparative Accomplishment
1997–2000
NUMBER OF PERSONS ARRESTED

40,00035,00030,00025,00020,00015,00010,0005,000
037,582 36,753+115.5% -2.20%

17,442
11,616+50.2%

1997 1998 1999 2000
01 January - 31 December

NUMBER OF CASES FILED

22,59825,000+91.3%

20,00010,00014,258

11,81515,0007,516+54.2%-36.9%

5,000
01997 1998 1999 2000
01 January - 31 December

VALUE OF DRUGS SEIZED

4B

4.00
3.03 B

3.00
2.00

1.8 B
1.08 B

1.00
0.00
1997 1998 1999 2000
01 January - 31 December

From January to August 2001, theseries of narcotics operations nationwide
conducte d by different d rug law

enforcement agencies resulted in thearrest of 23,395 persons and filing of
16,636 drug cases in various courts. The
total value of P828,557,053.40 worth ofillegal drugs were seized (DDB estimatedvalue) and a total of 26 foreign nationals
were arrested.
A successful police operation resulted
to the discovery of a shabu laboratory in
Brgy. Sto Nino, Lipa Batangas and thearrest of nine Chinese nationals and one
Filipino national in the name of Benjamin
Tubay Marcelo, the owner of the 2.5
hectares where the shabu laboratory was
located. Confiscated were 200 kgs of highgrade shabu, 400 kgs of newly processedsha bu and 50 0 kgs of ingredients ofshabu.
Early this year, over P7 million worthof fully grown marijuana pla nts andseeds were destroyed by law enforcement
agencies in a huge plantation in Sugpon,
I lo c o s S u r , L a U ni o n a n d B e n gu e t.
According to police opera tives, New
People’s Army guerillas operating in theprovince are reportedly giving protection
to the plantation.
The popular drugs of abuse at thispoint in tim e are m arijuana andmetham phetamine hydrochloride(shabu).
F. Illicit Trafficking of Firearms
Firearm is defined as “any barreledweapon that will or is designed or may bereadily converted to expel a bullet or
projectile by the action of an explosive,
including any frame or receiver of such abarreled weapon but not including any
antique firearm manufactured before thetwentieth century or its replicas.” This
includes “revo lvers a nd self -loa dingpistols; rifles and carbines; submachine
guns; certain hand-held under-barrel andmounted grenade launchers; portable

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
anti-aircraft guns; portable anti-tank
guns, recoilless rifles; certain portablelauncher of anti-aircraft missile androcket system; certain portable lahar
launchers of anti-aircraft missile
systems; mortars of caliber less than 100
mm cal.”The main sources of loose firearms are
the unregistered local gun manufacturers.
W e ca ll th e se s ou rc e s a s “P A LT I K ”
manufacturers. They are concentrated in
the island of Cebu particularly in Danao
City, Mandaue City and otherneighboring towns. These are clandestine
backyard or cottage industries manned byfamily members purposely to produce“paltik” firearms for trade and economic
alleviations.
Illicit trafficking of firearms is anothermenace to Philippine society. It becomesa s tu m b li n g b l o c k to o u r co un t r y’ se c o n o m i c d e ve l o p m e n t a n d p o s e s aserious threat to national security. The
ultimate goals to have political control,
economic advantage, power, revenge,
seek for immediate justice and personal
security are just but a few of the factorsthat a firearms trafficker has in mind. It
is in this context that he violates theexisting laws of the country.
The “gun trail” can be traced from theindividual “paltik” manufacturers elusivede ns and production sites to theconsumers through the enterprisingindividuals or groups whose main agenda
is eco nom ic gain. Syndicated C rim eGroups involved in trafficking of firearms
collect finished products from individual
sources and consolidate these firearms on
p r e - d e si g n a t e d b o d e g a s . C a c h e s o ffirearms are shipped to Manila or any
port for delivery to contacts for the cash
t ra de by Yak uz a cont acts /a gents .
Thereafter, the agents transport the said
firearms mostly by ships, barges, motor

438

bancas and other water carriers. Someut il iz e h e l ic o p t e rs a n d a ir cr a f t f o r
shipments and use of major international
airports.
The gun trail had been monitored eversince. Reports of confiscation, buy-bust
operations and police raids prompted theYakuza to import technology of the gun
manufacturer by hiring individual gun
makers. These gunsmiths are brought toJapan in the guise of tourists, contract
w orkers, a nd other legitima te co ver
purposely to manufacture guns inside
Japan.
While the government campaign todis m a nt l e a l l p ri va t e a rm ie s in t hePhilippines has resulted in a significant
decline in gunrunning transactions andincidents of firearms smuggling, theproliferation of loose firearms remains
unabated. This can be attributed to theopportunities offere d for local
transshipments of firearms and inboundsmuggling o f f oreign- ma de we ap ons
thro ug h I nte rn a tion a l a irp o rts a nd
maritime ports. Sometime in 1992, it wasmonitored that a big shipme nt offirearms, mostly cal. 5.56 US made rifles,
were unloaded in Mindanao and local
officials allegedly purchased the firearms.
Information gathered states that theYakuza is engaged in illegal firearms
trade. Members of the Yakuzaorganization acquire the bulk of “paltik”
productions in Cebu using different exit
points like Batangas, Ilocos Sur and othernorthern parts of the country.
The following factors contribute to theflow/movement of firearms in and out of
the country:(i)

The country’s geographic configuration
with its long and irregular coastlines,
and some sparse and isolated islands,

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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afford gunrunners numerous natural
covers for landing sites and storage
points;(ii) The prospects of huge profits andready markets f or smuggle dfirearms;(iii) Increased connivance among gunrunning syndicates and some corrupt
law enforcers; and(iv) Persistent involvement of somepolitical families and otherinfluential families in these activities
either to beef up their private armies
or as instruments in the conduct ofillicit activities
G. Piracy on the High Seas andArmed Robbery Against Ships
Article 101 of the 1982 UN Conventionof Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines
piracy as any of the following acts:(i)

any illegal acts of violence or
detention, or any act of depredation,committed for private ends by thecrew or the passengers of a private
ship or a private aircraft, an ddirected:•on the high seas, against anothership or aircraft, or against persons
or property on board such as shipor aircraft;• against a ship, aircraft, persons orproperty in a place outside thejurisdiction of any State;(ii) any act of voluntary participation in
the operation of a ship or an aircraftwith knowledge of facts making it apirate-ship or aircraft;(iii) any act of inciting or of intentionallyf a c ili ta t in g a n a c t d e s cr ib e d in
subparagraph (i) or (ii).
Based on IMB-PRC records, piracy in
the Philippines exhibited a downward
trend, from a high of 39 incidents in 1996
to only nine (9) last year (2000). However,the country was reported to have thehigh est nu mber of crew members/passengers killed (4 0) during piracy
attacks in 2000. Yemen, Bangladesh andGuatemala followed suit, in that order. In
1996, the same report also highlighted
the Philippines as a Flag State with thehighest number of attacks at 27 or 12% of
the total number of Nationalities of Ships
Attacked.

Number of Incidents in the Philippines
40

39

35
30

24

25
16

20

15

15

9

10

5

6

5

5
0
1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

January to December 1991 - 2000

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
Among the most significant incidentsof piracy that transpired in the Philippine
waters were the following:(i)

On April 23, 2000, a group of 21
p eo ple w ere f orc ib ly ta ke n f ro m
Sipadan Island, Malaysia bymembers of the Abu Sayaf Group.
After taking some of their money andpersonal belongings, the victims weretransported on board two vessels to
the island of Jolo in the southern
Philippines. The Philippine
authorities believed that themembers of the group were pirates
and bandits who have joined the Abu
Sayaf solely for monetaryconsiderations;(ii) The hijacking of MV Juliana, aG enera l C argo S hip lo ade d w ith
1,993 tons of steel sheets as orderedby the Philippine Steel Company
f r o m I n d o n e si a . I n v e s t ig a ti o n s
revealed that the said cargo ship was
repainted and renamed several times
and had earlier been used by the
T ha i M a f ia f o r se ve r a l y ea rs t o
smuggle goods; and(iii) The hijacking of MV Inabukwa, anIndonesian vessel carrying US$2.1
m i ll io n w o r t h o f ti n in g o ts , t inconcentrate and white pepper onbo ard . The ve ssel was seiz e d in
Sayap Island, Indonesia on March
15, 2001 by Indonesian pirates. The
vessel was heading towards
Singapore when it was hijacked. The
vessel was directed to an
undetermined destination before it
finally entered the Philippine
territorial waters. The Philippine
C o a st G ua rd ( P C G ) o f f i ci a ls o n
Ma rch 25 arrested seven alleged
Indonesian pirates and took custodyof the vessel, which name had beenchanged to MV Chungsin, at
Salomague Port, Cabugao, Ilocos Sur.

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Both the Indonesian and Philippine
governments, through their respective
action agencies, conducted initialinvestigations into the incident. The
vessel and the Indonesian nationals werere leased on June 27, 2001 to theauthorities of the Indonesian Embassy in
the Philippines. The Indonesian
government paid all expenses arising outof the detention of the vessel and thearrest of its alleged pirates as well asother fees incurred during their custodyb y t h e P hi l ip p in e a u t h o r i ti e s . T h e
Indonesia n government promised toprovide the Philippines withinvestigation update and results thereof.
H. Cybercrime
Cyberterrorism is the “unlawful acts
and threats of attack against computers,
networks, and information stored therein
when done to intimidate or coerce a
government or its people in furtheranceof political or social objectives. Further, toqualify a s cyberterrorism, an atta ck
should result in violence against persons
or property, or at least cause enoughdamage to generate fear.”
The infamous ILOVEYOU virus andits variations as a result of mutation,
which is so far considered to be the mostdamaging and most widespread virus
outbreak in history, is a manifestation ofc y b e r te r r o r is m t h a t u n f o r tu n a t e l yinvolved the Philippines. According to
final estimates, this virus was able toinvade tens of millions of computers
representing 80% of computer systems
w o rld w id e a nd ca use d a sta gge rin g
fina ncia l d a ma ge a mo unting to $ 1 0
billion. It w as ab le to cause va rious
irreparable damages to computers inHong Kong, Malaysia, Germany,
B e lg ium , F ra nc e , th e N e th er lan d s,
Sweden, Great Britain and the UnitedStates. Specifically, the virus disabled
A T M s i n B e l g i u m le a v i n g c i t i z e n s

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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cashless for quite sometime, disrupted
the British House of Commons’ internal
communications system and corrupted
the e-mail systems of the US Congressincluding that o f the Pentagon withs p e ci f i c r e f e r e n c e t o t h e c l a s s if ie dinformation system of the US Defense
Department.
The use of computers as instruments
f or te rro rist op er a tio ns ca n b e b est
illustrated by the case of Ramzi Ahmed
Yousef who is now serving a life sentencein the United States for the 1993 bombingof the World Trade Center in New York.
A la ptop seized from him during his
arrest by members of the Philippine
N a ti o n a l P o l i c e r e ve a ls a d e t a il e do p er a t i o na l p la n t o b o m b d o z e ns o f
A m e ri ca n a ir line s o ve r th e P a cif ic .
Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist activities
and underground infrastructures are
sustained by personal computerscomplete w ith sophisticated satellite
uplinks and encrypted messages which
provide him with the capacity to direct
terrorist operations in other countries
while maintaining a seclude dunderground network in Afghanistanwith the aid of the Taliban militia.
T he Ph ilip pin es is a ho me to 180
internet service providers and at least
700,000 computers of which 50% areconn ect ed t o t he in tern et. Wi th ad e v e l o p in g e c o n o m y t h a t i s sl o w l yembracing electronic technology, it is also
gradually becoming a vulnerable prey tothe onslaught of computer crimes andcyberterrorism. At this early, thedevelopment of its computer networks ishampered by threats posed by theseperverse activities. The more notable ofthese computer crimes include Internet
Service Provider (ISP) hacking involving
the illegal use of ISP accounts, denial ofservice which includes web defacing andother service interruptions of websites

which was done to the website of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, the AMA
Computer College, the BBPilipinas.com,
Globe.com.ph, and the Fapenet.org.,
backdoor/Trojan involving the sniffing ofimportant documents of other websites,
and credit card fraud which is the mostprevalent com puter crime beingcommitted.
Since January of this year, several
institutions were hacked to include the
PLDT, the Office of the President andthat of the Press Secretary, Ateneo deManila University, and the University ofSanto Tomas. Just recently, Senator
Roco’s website was hacked by a malicious
pra nk ste r w ho de fa ce d the site a nd
replaced it with irrational andincomprehensive information.
The cyber-terrorist threat, on the other
hand, could be perpetrated by the CPP/NPA /N D F which ha s bee n co mputerreliant since 1987. The movement is able
to enhance its intelligence networks andintercept classified information with its
sophisticated computer system. To denyg o v e r n m e n t a u t h o r it i e s c l a s s i f i e dinformation of the movement, the latterhas institutionalized encryption as ameans of relaying information to operating
units in other parts of the country. Even
its recognized leader, Jose Maria Sison,
maintains a personal website from which
he can communicate and rally the local
insurgents into launching terrorist attacks
against the government. Non-governmentorganizations here and abroad that are
sympathetic to their cause and giving
financial and other assistance can also be
r e a c h e d t h ro u gh t h e i n te r n e t th u s
facilitating unhampered transactions.
The National Youth Student Bureau,
which serves as an impo rtant
subordinate party organ of the National
Organizational Department of the CPP/

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
N P A , ma in tains a p oo l of co mp ute r
literates a nd experts. Se vera l pa rtym e mb e rs ha ve e nro lle d in d iff er ent
co mp ute r schools while others ha ve
infiltrated the underground computer
networks to gain expertise on how toinitiate computer crimes and utilize thesame in their terrorist activities.
III. COUNTERMEASURES/
INITIATIVES
T he p ro s p e c t o f l a w e n f o rc e m e nt
cooperation in Asia has come of age. In an
era of regionalization and globalization,states have to recognize that incombating a threat together it is likelythat they will have to collaborate andcoordinate their actions.
T he a r ra y o f re gi o na l a nd g lo b a larrangements takes m any f orms:
standing bodies, ad hoc conferences,bilateral agreements, and multilateralconventions. These non-state actions
form the basis for cooperation and, at its
essence, is the basis for a continuing
union of states. The ultimate objective ofsuch cooperation is the forma tion of
global and regional groupings with thestated minimum aim of providing a forum
on issues of significant mutual concern.
A. Trafficking in Persons
The Philippines has no specific lawthat deals squarely with hum an
trafficking. How ever, a bill titled as“Anti-Trafficking in Human Beings Act of2001” that seeks to criminalize humantrafficking in all its forms is pending in
the Philippine Congress. Pending thep a s sa g e o f t h is le g a l m e a s u re , l a w
enforcement authorities to penalize thoseinvo lved in hum an trafficking are
utilizing several laws. These are thefollowing:442

1. Republic Act No. 6955 entitled “AnAct to Declare Unlawful the Practiceof M a tc hin g Fi lip ino W o m e n f or
Marriage to Foreign Nationals on a
Mail-Order Basis and Other Similar
Practices
IncludingtheAdvertisement, Publication, Printing
or Distribution of Brochure, Filers
and Other Propaganda Materials inFurtherance Thereof and Providing
Penalty Thereof”.
2. Republic Act No. 7610, known as
the “Special Protection of Children
Aga inst Ab use , Exploita tio n andDiscrimination Act”. This law
prevents the prostitution and otherforms of sexua l a buse comm itted
against children (Article III) and also
penalizes child trafficking (ArticleIV).
3. Republic Act No. 8042, known as
the “Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipino Act of 1995”. It penalizes
illegal recruitment of persons for
employment abroad.
4. Republic Act No. 8239, known as
the “Philippine Passport Act of 1996”
penalizes the procurement and use of
spurious Philippine passports.
The Philippine law enfor cement
organization has specialized units to deal
with human trafficking cases. These are
the following:
1. Human Trafficking Desk of thePhilippine
Centeron
Transnational Crime (PCTC). This
desk is in charge of gathering data on
human trafficking cases as well as in
the maintenance of the central
database, continuous gathering ofin f o rm ati o n t o su st ain th e d a t arequirem ents of the database,generating reports from the databaseneeded in police investigation, andoperations, trend analysis, strategic
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119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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2. Anti-Illegal Recruitment Brancho f the Philippine Ov ersea s
Employment Administration(POEA). It is specifically tasked toinvestigate cases of illegal
recruitment for employment abroad
and filing cases in appropriate courts.
3. Violence Against Women andChildren Division of the National
Bu re au of In ve st igat ion . T his
specialized unit takes cognizance of
all cases with women and children as
victims to include trafficking andsmuggling, forced labor andprostitution.
4. Women and Children Concern of
the Criminal Investigation
Detec tion Group. Thi s iscounterpart of the Violence against
Women and Children Division of the
NBI at the Philippine National Police
and as such its functions is similar
with the former.
The following are the programmes ofv a ri o us i nte r na tio n a l an d n a ti o nal
organizations as well as the Philippine
governments to stop trafficking in womenand children:
1. Prevention(i) Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration—offers dancing
skills d eve lo pm ent f or would- beentertainers and caregiver’s training
to potential domestic helpers, in the
belief that these talents and skills
would protect Filipino women
workers abroad.
(ii) National Commission on the
Rights of Filipino Wom en(NCRFW)—Advocating policies andprogrammes to stop trafficking in
w omen and children such a s theenactment of an anti-trafficking bill
into law and the d evelopment o f
information and education materials

foradvocacyandpublicdissemination.
(iii) Other government agencies into
a dvocacy and aw areness are theD e p a rtm e n t o f T o ur ism (D O T ),Department of Social Welfare andDevelopment (DSWD), Philippine
Overseas Employment Administrationand the Commission on Filipinos
Overseas (CFO). The Department of
Educ ation, Culture and Sp orts
(DECS)—conceptualizing integrated
programmes to be conducted for schoolof ficia ls, curriculum d eve lopers,s tud en t/c om m u nity le a de rs a n dparents.
(iv) Philippine
NetworkagainstTrafficking in Women (PNATW)—
lobbied for the introduction of antitrafficking legislation and has been
involved in the production of several
videos and broadcast programmes
about the risks of working aboard.
(v) The International Organization
on Migration (IOM)— al sos up p o r te d v a r io u s in f o r m a ti o n,
advocacy law development activities.
(vi) The United Nations Coalitions
Against Trafficking in Persons
Global Programme—enables thecountry’s coordinating agencies todraft a Strategic Action Plan Against
Trafficking in Persons. More over,representatives from the Coalitiona r e co nsiste ntly m o nito ring the
programmes of the Center as well as
continuously sharing information,
which could facilitate and effectively
implement such programmes.
(vii) Other NGOs advocate initiatives
paying attention to prostitution as a
violation of human rights.
2. Protection and Return
Protection and return activities focuseson the special assistance to victims whocome out of prostitution by providing

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
shelter, health care, counseling,education, and vocational training.
3. Reintegration
Reintegration programmes are aimed
at facilitating the recovery from any
traumatic experience and the turn tonormal life of victims to pursue their
aspirations in life.
B. International Terrorism
It is the national policy of thePhilippine government to declare a total
war against terrorism. It considers all
terrorist actions, regardless ofmotivation, as criminal acts, not to accede
to blackmail or demand nor grant any
concession, not to provide sanctuary or“safe haven” for terrorists whether they
are Filipino or foreign nationals. It alsoadheres to all international conventions
and initiatives against terrorism andparticipates in all endeavors designed tostrengthen international cooperation inorder to prevent and neutralize terrorist
acts.
Beca use of the globa l character ofterrorism, the Philippines has sought tostrengthen its international linkages by
sig ning the Joint Commu nique oninternational terrorism during the 1993
Conference of ASEAN Chiefs of Police(ASEANAPOL) and the Memorandum of
Agreement on Counter-Terrorism withseveral countries and pursued various
a gr ee me nts w ith the U S A, like w ise
establishing an INTERPOL-National
Central Bureau.
In 1996, the Philippines hosted theInternational Conference on Counterterrorism (ICCT) in Baguio, which wasattended by nineteen representatives
f rom d iffe rent pa rts of the w orld toe nh a n c e i nt e r n a ti o n a l c o o p e r a ti o n
ag ains t all fo r m s of te rr o rism . Th e
“Baguio Communique” took into444

co nsideration some fundamental
principles such as: 1) there must be no
sanctuary for terrorists; 2) there must be
no c o m pr om is e in the fi ght a ga in stt e r r o r i sm ; 3 ) t h e s t r e n g t h e n in g o fmultilateral and bilateral cooperation or
coordination of policy and action against
terrorism; etc.
The Philippine government establishedthe Philippine Center on TransnationalC r im e ( P C T C ) o n 1 5 J a nu a r y 1 9 9 9
pursuant to EO. Nr 62, to deal specificallywith all transnational crimes includingthat of terrorism. The PCTC’s primaryfunctions among others are: to establish ashared central database among
government agencies for information on
criminals, methodologies, arrests andconvictio ns regarding tra nsnatio na lcrimes, to explore and coordin ate
information exchanges and training withothe r gov ernm e nt a ge ncie s, fo re ig n
co untries
andinternationalorganizations.
Relatedly, on 7 May 1999, Executive
Order No. 100 was issued transferring
the INTERPOL-NCB functions from PNP
to PCTC’s supervision in order to fortify
and facilitate the coordination between
and among foreign countries. This, inessence, placed other agencies, offices andinstr um e ntalit ies su ch as th e L oo p
Center of the NCCAS (before NACAHT);
the Po lice A ttaches of the P NP and
Political Attaches/Counselors for Security
Matte rs of the DILG under its
sup e rv isio n and co ntr ol in o rd e r tostrengthen
theoperational,
administrative and information support
system of the PCTC. Additionally, E.O
No. 110 was issued, dated June 15 1999,
which directs the PNP to support the
AFP in Internal Security Operations forthe suppression of insurgency and otherserious threats to national security, theDepartment of the Interior and Local

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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Government (DILG) was relieved of its
p r i m a r y r e s p o n s i b i li t y o n m a t t e r s
involving the suppression of insurgency
and other threats to national security.
O n the othe r ha nd , M e mo ra ndum
Order No. 121 dated October 31, 2000,
p ro vid e s a n d d ef ine s me a su re s a nd
guidelines on how to effectively address
terrorism particularly hostage-taking
situations. However, all aviation-related
incidents shall be covered by existinglaws and procedures under the National
Action Committee on Anti-Hijacking andTerrori sm (NACA HT) , a nd thisMemorandum shall be supplementary
thereto.
To further ensure the effectiveness ofthe government’s drive against terrorism,
the government issued Executive OrderNr 336 on 5 January 2001, reconstituting
the National Action Committee on AntiHijacking and Anti-Terrorism to NationalC o u ncil f o r C iv il A via tio n S ec ur ity(NCCAS). The reconstituted NCCAS wasestablished primarily to contain threatsof avia tion-related terrorism a nd tostrengthen the law enforcem ent
capabilities in order to effectively address
all forms of terrorist acts against civil
aviations.
Just recently, President Gloria
M acapagal A rroyo announced thef o u r te e n p o in t p o lic y in cl ud in g s ix
measures to combat terrorism as follows:
Six Measures• One, to join the International
Counter-Terrorist Coalition and towork with the United Nations.
• Two, to work closely with the UnitedStates on intelligence and security
matters concerning terrorism.
• Three, to make available Philippine
air space and facilities when these are
required as transit or staging point.

•••

Four, to contribute logistical support
in the form of food supply, medicinesand medical personnel;
Five, to subject to the concurrence ofCongress, to provide combat troops if
there is an international call for suchtroops.
Six, to prevent the flow of funds toterrorist groups to the Philippines bypassing and implementing legislation
against money laundering.

Fourteen Pillars• Organize the whole enterprise anddelineate clear lines of responsibility
and accountability (including theca b in e t o v e r s ig h t c o m m it t e e o ninternal security).
• Anticipate events more efficiently andeffectively (with the national security
advisers undertaking special
intelligence coordinating projects).
• Strengthen internal focus against
terrorism (with all the government
units “down to the barangay level”
involved).
• Hold accountable all public andprivateorganizations
andpe r so n a l i t i es a b e t t i ng o r a id ing
terrorism.
• Synchronize internal efforts with theglobal outlook (including the fasttracking of a regional consensus withIndonesia and Malaysia in the war
against terrorism).
• Combine a policy of tactical counter
force with a set of strategic legal
measures.
• Pursue broader inter-faith dialogue topr omote Ch ristian an d Mu slim
solidarity.
• Exercise vigilance against movementso f su s p e c t e d p e r s o n s, f i r e a r m s ,explosives, raw materials ofe x p l o s iv e s , t o x ic m a t e r ia l s a n dbiological materials.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
•
•
•
•

•
•

Coordinate preparations and actionsin the event of catastrophic terrorist
attacks.
Draft a comprehensive security planfor critical infrastructure.
Support the immediate transfer out ofoverseas Filipino workers.
Modernize the armed forces and thenational police considering current
and emerging needs to contain the
global terrorist threat.
Seek the support of media to promoteconsensus and counsel prudence.
Take cognizanceof terrorism’s
political, social and econom ic
underpinnings.

C. Money Laundering
The Senate and the House ofRepresentatives of the 12th Congress had
passed recently the much-debated AntiM one y La und ering Bill through theRepublic Act No. 9160, an Act Defining
the Crime of Money Laundering,
Providing Penalties Therefor and forother Purposes. This Act shall be known
as the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of2001.” This act, which is a consolidationof House Bill No. 3083 and Senate Bill
No. 1745, was finally passed by the Houseof Representatives and the Senate on
September 29, 2001 and was approved
into law by President Gloria MacapagalA rroyo. The bill m akes it a crime totransact through the banking systemmoney in excess of four-million pesos(US$80,000.00) representing proceeds for
14 specific crimes.
Included in the predicate crimes of thislaw are kidnapping for ransom; drugtrafficking; graft and corruption; plunder;r o b b e r y a nd e x to rt io n; ju et e ng a n dmasiao; piracy on the high seas; qualified
th ef t; sw ind ling, s m ugglin g, cy ber crimes; hijacking; destructive arson andmurder, including those perpetrated byt er r or is t s a ga ins t no n - co m b a t a nt s;

446

securities fraud; and offenses of a similar
nature punishable under the penal lawsof other countries.
D. Intellectual Property Rights’
Violations
Below are some specific initiatives
undertaken by the Philippine
g o ve r nm e n t f o r th e p r o te c ti o n a n dpromotion of intellectual property rights:
1. BSA and NBI Campaign Against
Software Piracy—Coordinated andconducted a campaign against thecontinuing problem of illegal
software.
2. Republic Act 8293—Known as the“Intellectual Property Code of thePhilippines”, it is being implemented
as the primary law on intellectual
property to comba t all forms a ndmanner of infringement, piracy andcounterfeit of intellectual property
rights.
3. Creation of Intellectual Property
Office (IPO)—Tasked to administerand implement the State Policy toprotect the exclusive rights ofscientists, inventors, artists, andother gifted citizens to theirintellectual property and creations
which are beneficial to people, forperiods as provided in the Intellectual
Property Code.
4. Creation of the PIAC-IPR—
Cr ea ted to coo rd inate co ncern ed
government agencies and private
entities for the proper enforcement ofintellectual property rights in the
country.
5. Creation of the PCTC—Tasked toperform the necessary and propercourses of action to contribute in thebattle against intellectual property
rights crime.
6. BSA and PISO Campaign Against
Internet Piracy—Both agreed towork together in addressing internet

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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pirac y pr oblems specifically ingenerating greater awareness and theappreciation of the roles of internet
service providers in the prevention
and control of this problem.
7. Private Sector Initiatives—Forgedan agreement to restrict the sale ofpirated compact discs and to sanction
those who will violate suchagreement.
E. Drug Trafficking
Republic Act No. 6425 otherwise
known as “The Dangerous Drugs Act of1972” as amended by Presidential Decree
Numbers 44, 1675, 1683, 1707, Batas
Pambansa Blg. 179, and Republic Act No.
7 65 9—this la w institutiona liz es theinternationally accepted two-pronged
approach of supply and demand
reduction. Supply reduction is manifested
through the imposition of penalties foracts punishable in relation to prohibitedand regulated drugs and the forfeiture of
the proceeds or instruments of the crimeso penalized in favor of the government.
Department of the Interior andLocal Government (DILG) CircularNo. 98-227—this DILG issuancemandates all local government units(LGUs) to organize Anti-Drug Abuse
Councils in their respective areas of
responsibility. The chief executives of all
local political units (barangays,
municipalities, cities, and provinces) arec on curr en tly the ch a irm e n o f th es e
ADACs with the provincial directors,
chiefs of police and precinct commanders
as vice chairmen. These organizations aretasked to implement demand and supply
reduction through the realization ofprogrammes and projects on preventive
education, treatment and rehabilitation,r e s e a r c h , a n d in t e r d i c ti o n s. T h e s eorganizations also offer venues throughwhich various organiz ations andindividuals will work together in theplanning, implementation and evaluationof programmes on drug abuse prevention
and intervention. As of year 2000, forty
thousand four hundred and forty six
thousand Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse
C oun cils (B A D A C s) w er e o rga niz e dthrough the orchestration of the National
Drug Law Enforcement and Prevention
Coordinating Center (NDLEPCC).
Letter of Instruction Nr. 1 (LOI Nr1)—this LOI was signed by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on July 4, 2001
the purpose of this LOI was to seek tomobilize and bring to bear the entire
Governments machinery and the Civil
Society in all-out and sustained anti-drug
campaign n ation wide towa rds theattainment of a drug free Philippines
2010.
F. Piracy on the High Seas andArmed Robbery Against Ships
Currently, the Philippine Government
is coming up w ith a na tional plan ofaction to address piracy on the high seas
and armed robbery against ships.
In the meantime, the Maritime Groupof the Philippine National Police,
Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy,
MARINA and the PPA primarily enforce
all applicable laws regarding piracy anda rm ed ro b b er y. The se a gen cies a ndof f ice s have c o ngru en t f un ctio ns to
implement such laws, although withspecific limitations in terms of equipment
and facilities. A core group composed ofse le cte d re pre se nta tive s from theseagencies drafte d a program me ofactivities on matters pertaining to law
enf or cem e nt, le gal and inf orm ationexchange.
On August 3, 2001, CABCOM-MOAC
Co re G rou p o n P ira cy e xpre ssed its
support to the Japanese proposal on the“Regional Agreement on Anti-Piracy in

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
Asia”. This ASEAN-Japan proposal was
discussed on October 4–5, 2001, in the
aspect of the scope of agreement,
information network, capacity building
and cooperation, among others.
G. Illicit Firearms Trafficking
The control of “Paltik” manufacturing
is one of the problems that beset our law
e n f o rc e m e nt a g e nc ie s. T he co u nt ry
through its PNP Firearms and Explosive
Division is encouraging illegal
ma nufacturers to come to terms andorganize a license industry. As of now,there are two licensed manufacturers in
D a na o C ity, C ebu—the D anao Arms
Corporation (DAMCOR) and the Workers
League of Danao Multi-Purpose
Cooperative (WORLD-MPC). These two
manufacturers are authorized to produce
a total of 6,000 ass orted firearms
annually based on their manufacturers
license issued by the PNP Chief. Thispo wer to approve and disapproveapplications for firearms manufacturing
license was expressly delegated to the
C h ie f , P N P u n d e r S e c t io n 2 7 ( f ) o f
Republic Act 6975.
There is a need therefore to liberalize
the issuance of manufacturer’s license toeliminate red tape, and come up with asimpler system. Decentralizing of theprocessing to the regional level may
encourage illegitimate “paltik”
manufacturers to come out in the open
and abide with the regulations.
The Bureau Customs is the primaryagency tasked to address the smugglingof firearms. The Philippine government
formed an AD-HOC committee toincorporate the efforts of all law
enforcement and intelligence agencies bycreating a coordinating body called the
National Law Enforcement Coordinating
Committee (NALECC). Each memberag en cy p a sse s in fo rm atio n to o the r448

agencies to come up with SPIDER WEB
efforts to identify and entrap smugglers
even at local inter island ports of entry
and exit. Intensified informatio ngathering by app ointed intelligenceagents and informants is likewise being
undertaken. Searches by Coast Guard
and Custom Officials are implemented on
suspected carriers.
1. On Pilferage of Firearms
The counterintelligence units andrespective Security Officers of AFP/PNP
a r e no w a d d r e s sin g th e p ro b le m o fpilferage of firearms. Inventory andinspection of physical establishments arebeing monitored regularly. Aside from theenhancement of physical structure on
camps and other military installations,safeguard mechanisms are employed.
2. On Losses from Police and Military
Operations
Professionalizing the police and themilitary can n eg ate l os ses du rin glegitimate Police and Military operations.
Training, Information and Education oftroo ps in ord er to ta ke ca re of theirindividual equipment are every now andthen undertaken. Executive Order 122
da ted 8 S eptemb er 1 99 4 pe rta ins toproper reporting of lost FA’s as well as
recovered firearms from the enemy. This
includes the proper accounting of all
government firearms as basis for future
audit and inventory.
H. Cybercrime
Th e g overnment is continuously
stren gthen ing its legal as well as
structural mechanisms to counter the
proliferation of computer crimes andcyberterrorism
vis-à-vis
theimplementation of the National
Information Technology Plan that seeks
to ensure the electronic interconnection ofa ll go ve rnm e nt units, a ge nc ies a nd
instrumentalities and also ensures that

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
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all sectors of society will have access to
information technology.
Foremost of these initiatives is thepassage into law of Republic Act No.
8 7 9 2 , a l s o kn ow n a s t he E l e ct r on i c
Commerce Act. It seeks, among others, toensure network security and penalize
u n a u th o r iz e d a cc e s s, il le g a l u se o felectronic documents and the wanton
destruction of computer files.
Complimenting this law is the Task
Force on N ational Information
Infrastructure Protection established on
May 20, 2000. It is tasked to conduct anassessment of all national infrastructuresthat form part of the country’s social
backbone, identify their vulnerabilities tocyberterrorism and other related crimes
and recommend response measures toensure their protection leading to therealization of a comprehensive National
Information Infrastructure Security
Programme.
IV.ASSESSMENT
The rapid growth of technology has
created a paradox in society, such that wehave to live side by side with theadvances it has for our lives, as well as
the dangers it poses to man and society.
For no matter how remarkable theseadvances have become, there also will
alw ays be advancements in criminal
undertakings and activities that use thevery same technology to “advance” theirvery own peculiar interests.
The Philippines has remained as asource, transit and destination country
for illegal emigrants to include victims of
trafficking and smuggling. This is due towide range of national conditions thatfavor the exodus of people out of thecountry as well as large economic andsocial op portunities abroad. Thisphenomenon is further enhanced by
globalization, which is easing them o b i li t y o f p e o p l e a c r o s s n a t i o n a lborders.
Institutional mechanisms andinternational/regional arrangements aresoun d a ction s that w ill definit ely
strengthen national capabilities against
human trafficking and smuggling andother transnational crimes.
Terrorism has always existed and thechances are strong that it will continue toexist. It will remain as long as there islittle regard for the emotional componentof political, social and economic problems
besetting two or more opposing states.
The se f a ctors m otiva te ind ivid ua ls,
groups or class to conduct aggressions asa means to correct perceived injustices orinequity in their relationship. The threatof terrorism will continue to be felt in thePhilippines. This is a strong indicationthat the Philippine government should bedetermined and sincere in addressing thethreat of domestic and international
terrorism.
In Asia, money laundering is on theri se . T he r e a so n s c ite d a r e o f f ic ia lcorruption, strict bank secrecy laws,
traditional ethnic underground banking
networks and in some countries a lack ofanti-money laundering laws. The reportp in p o int e d C hi na , H o ng K o n g, a n d
M a c a u a s m a j o r m o ne y l a u n d e r i ng
centers, and also named India, Indonesia,
and the Philippines. The Philippines hastaken its move. It is expected that othercountries, especially those falling under
the category as probable havens of money
launderers, will finally heed the call of
FATF.
The massive increase in piracy,
counterfeit and infringem ent ofintellectual property rights has

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
significantly affected the Southeast Asian
region, including the Philippines. The
proliferation of the crime has also been
implicated in the continuing economiccrisis being experienced by the region.
Despite the efforts and measures takenby the government, the nation is still at
risk and gre at da nger. Accord ing to
B u sin e ss So f twar e A llianc e ’s C h ie f
Executive Officer, Robert Holleyman,“the Philippine laws are not enough toprotect IPR and copyright.”
The illicit trafficking of firearms is acommon problem shared by many state.
The gravity of the problem depends on
how rules on firearms regulations arebeing implemented. The definition of
firearm has been a subject of debate. But
the scope of its operation and impacts areu n d e r m in i n g t h e se c u r i ty o f e v e r yi nd iv id u a l. T he P hi lip p in e s sh o ul daddress the problem s posed byunregistered firearms and the productionof “paltik” guns. Control through effective
regulation is needed. A proactive concept
should also be developed to counter illicit
trafficking of firearms.
Another transnational crim e
recognized as an offense against the lawof nations is piracy. Incidents of piracy
were expected to increase with increase
trade and commerce using internationalsea lanes. There is, therefore, a need for
gr ea te r re gion al na va l co op er a tio n,d iplo ma tic d ialo gue a nd continuingu nd e rsta nd ing o f v a rio us m a r itim e
issues. These issues could include thefollowing: information sharing; joint
exercise/patrolling; standard operatingprocedure on piracy reporting; training of
personnel; technology exchange and theestablishment of anti-piracy networks
and rescue center.
In drug trafficking, interna tional,r egion al an d na tio na l initia tives to450

combat the problem on illegal drugs are
sufficient in substance but not in a way
the se a re b ein g im p le me nte d . W it hrespect to international and regional
initiatives, their implementation within
the territory of signatory sta tes arehampered.
Unfortunately, the economic
environment is being transformed bytransnational criminal syndicates to theiradvanta ge. With the emergence of ab o r d e r le s s w o r l d , m e m b e r o f t he secriminal syndicate s can e nter any
country with ease to perpetrate their
i ll e g a l a c t i v it i e s m a s q u e r a d in g a s
legitimate investors and tourists.
V.CONCLUSION
Transnational crimes have existed anda consensus has emerged that these will
be a growing challenge. Not all states,
however, agree which of these crimes areto be given priorities because they do notaffect every country equally. Its effects ina country, like the Philippines, facing thechallenges of sustaining a certain level of
economic growth, can be more severe
compared to its neighbors. For example,
migration can be harmful to sending
state, but in some respects, it can be
helpful to a sending state because of
pecuniary remittance being sent back to
the fa milie s of migrants. The harm,
however, is greater than the help because
a nu m be r o f the se m igra nts en d up
exploited. O ther nationa l conditions
vulnerable to exploitation by
tra nsna tio na l o rga niz e d synd ica te s
include the following:
1. Archipelagic condition of the country
characterized by scattered islands
and islets and a long and virtually
unguarded coastline;
2. The widening gap between the richa nd t he po or a cco mp a ni ed b y a n

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u ne m p lo y m e n t p r o b le m a n d th e
shortage of manpower and specializedskills in industrialized countries;
3. Proximity to drug producing andexporting countries and source ofillegal migrants; and4. The absence or ineffectiveness of laws
against transnational crime.

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