In observance of the 2018 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) will be holding a Cineforum featuring the film, Across the Crescent Moon, on 31 July at the Cinematheque Manila.

The Cineforum is one of the main activities lined up for the week-long celebration of the global event in the Philippines, which mainly aims to raise public awareness on human trafficking. It will be graced by the film’s director and producer Baby Nebrida, IACAT member agencies and partners led by the Department of Justice (DoJ) as IACAT chair, the CFO (Usec. Astravel Pimentel-Naik) and the FDCP (chairperson Liza Diño).

In 2013, the United Nations General adopted a resolution designating 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. This resolution declared that such a day was necessary to “raise awareness on the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.”

The award-winning masterpiece of Nebrida (heralded as the Ambassador for Peace by the International Parliamentarians), is a good eye-opener to the problem of human trafficking in the Philippines. The protagonist, portrayed by Matteo Guidicelli, is a Muslim soldier who battles human trafficking and other crimes in the Southern part of Mindanao while keeping his marriage to his Christian wife (Alex Godinez) intact.

The film highlights the perils of modern-day slavery and digs deeper into kidnapping, abduction, and illegal recruitment, the three modes of trafficking in the Philippines. It also tackles the uniqueness of inter-faith relationships, echoing the importance of unity despite religious and cultural differences. The film has garnered international acclaims such as being awarded Best Ensemble Cast and Best Feature Global Film by the International Film Festival Manhattan and Best Film by the Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Human trafficking is a crime that exploits men, women and children for numerous purposes including forced labor and sex. The International Labour Organization estimates that 21 million people are victims of forced labor globally. This estimate also includes victims of human trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation.

From 2016 until the current year, the Philippine government, through the IACAT headed by the DoJ, has consistently ranked Tier 1 in the United States Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

This means that the government fully meets the minimum global standards for the elimination of trafficking.

The launch of IACAT’s 1343 Actionline Against Trafficking in 2011 marked the commitment of our government in eliminating threats of human trafficking, slavery and abuse.

For more information, contact Janet Ramos (email jramos@cfo.gov.ph; tel. no. 552-744) or Frencel Tingga (email ftingga@cfo.gov.ph; tel. no. 552-4766) of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. Any interested school administrators, student leaders and members of the media (school or professional), may get in touch with the CFO for the screening of the film on 31 July.

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