Every day I prayed that someone would help us escape that place

Human trafficking and prostitution of children is a significant issue in the Philippines, often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Next only to the trafficking of drugs and guns, trafficking in persons is now the world’s third most profitable organized crime. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Asia, are trafficked every year. As a major source of migrant workers all over the world (it has 7 million migrant workers worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization), the Philippines is no stranger to human trafficking, “a lucrative underground economy” inside the country, said the Visayan Forum Foundation. [2]

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) estimated that 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines were involved in prostitution rings. There is a high incidence of child prostitution in tourist areas. An undetermined number of children are forced into exploitative labor operations. [3]

Human trafficking has different forms. For example, in Manila, Cebu, Luzon, and Mindanao, there are forced domestic helpers, forced farming, prostitution and forced labor in small workshops, etc. In some popular tourist destinations like Boracay, Angeles City, Olongapo, Puerto Galera, and Surigao. Due to the great demand from tourists, prostitution, including child prostitution is very rampant. [4]

(WATCH: Short explainer video about child labor in the Philippines)

The short docu entitled Rekrut (Recruit) is produced by ECLIPSE Inc. with the assistance of Development Innovation Insider Productions to raise the awareness of the general public on human trafficking as depicted by the true-to-life story of Josie Caberos, one of the rescued child laborers in the sardine factory. With the help of the KDF workers, Josie was able to free herself from the horrendous experience of modern slavery and through ECLIPSE, has emerged herself as a community volunteer committed to fight against human trafficking.

Eclipse Inc. Story

In March 1995, the Kamalayan Development Foundation (KDF), a national non-government organization based in Quezon City implemented the International Labor Organization-funded project entitled “Rescue, Rehabilitation and Community Integration of Victims of Child Trafficking in the Manufacturing Sector”.

They conducted seminars and training on human rights, children’s rights, child labor, and others, carried out organizing work among the children and youth, launched community-wide campaigns to educate more people and the government regarding child labor and the task of promoting children’s rights. They coordinated with government agencies, particularly with the Department of Labor and Employment, National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to conduct detection and surveillance in terminals and ports.

However, ILO-IPEC stopped the funding of the project and just to continue the organizing work, only minimal interventions were given due to lack of support.

In September 1998, they began with a new period of revived capability as they seek the funding support of Terre des Hommes Netherlands. The project was called “Exodus from Plantation to Education”, a program that had an educational component designed to replace child labor with education through supporting the entry or re-entry of school-aged working children into the schools.

In the course of these major developments, they have transformed into an independent non-government organization, thus, EXODUS FROM CHILD LABOR TO INTEGRATION, PLAY, SOCIALIZATION AND EDUCATION (ECLIPSE) was brought into life. ECLIPSE aims to contribute to the achievement and promotion of children’s rights and the achievement of child labor-free and child-friendly society. [5]

Marlon Makilan’s Interview