REP. Alfred Vargas has filed a measure that seeks to establish an anti-human trafficking program for the youth.

House Bill 8256 mandates the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to educate the youth about the dangers of international and domestic human trafficking in various forms and provide them information on the services provided by government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

It also aims to inform them about their fundamental rights concerning labor and employment, liberty, and human security.

Vargas said human trafficking comes in different forms, including forced labor and sexual exploitation where children are among the most vulnerable victims.

“Human trafficking is a crime that undermines the very values and human dignity of Filipinos to live free and safe from abuse, harm and exploitation,” he said in his explanatory note.

The lawmaker cited a UNICEF report stating that some 60,000 to 100,000 Filipino children are involved in prostitution rings, while an undertermined number are forced into exploitative labor operations.

Under the bill, the Council will coordinate with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in implementing a school-based anti-human trafficking program.

Vargas said that lack of understanding and awareness of human trafficking help facilitate a culture of impunity for the perpetrators, and a burden of injustice for the victims.

This makes it imperative for the state to assume a larger role in stopping trafficking by educating the youth about the dangers of trafficking, he added.