From 23 Facebook pages engaged in the illegal sale of babies, the number is now down to seven, the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) said.
In a press conference held during the celebration of the Adoption and Alternative Childhood Care Week on Tuesday, NACC executive director Janella Estrada said the NACC is coordinating with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to strengthen the crackdown on those pages.
"Last week, we had a meeting with [Philippine National Police] (PNP) and [Department of Information and Communications Technology]. Nagkaroon kami ng inter-agency meeting regarding this para ma-take down na nga yung Facebook pages (We had an inter-agency meeting regarding this so that the Facebook pages can be taken down)," Estrada said.
Citing the CICC, Estrada said some of the accounts were deactivated, while some were taken down by the agency.
The Center for Welfare of Children (CWC) Undersecretary Angelo Tapales reminded that those illegally selling children could be held legally liable.
"Ang pagbebenta po ng bata or consideration, ibig sabihin ay may kapalit na mahalagang bagay o pera, ay ipinagbabawal as early as Republic Act 7610 or Child Abuse Law (The sale of a child or consideration, which means that something valuable or money is exchanged, is prohibited under the Republic Act 7610 or the Child Abuse Law)," Tapales continued.
"Ang pagbebenta o pagbili ng bata for the purpose of adoption or kung ano pang exploitative na purposes, ay illegal (The sale or purchase of a child for the purpose of adoption or any other exploitative purposes, is illegal)," he added.
Tapales said it is qualified trafficking because it involves children.
It is also considered as a qualified trafficking when the one selling the child are the parents or relatives and the use of information communication technology, such as social media, was used.
Any person found guilty of qualified trafficking shall suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than P2 million but not more than P5 million.
The NACC also announced that it was able to arrest a couple in Cavite during an entrapment operation conducted by the PNP.
They were allegedly selling a newborn baby for P90,000 through Facebook.
It also confirmed the arrest of a 23-year-old mother in Samar who was also selling her one-year-old baby and a two-year-old child for P30,000 each.
The mother is now under the custody of the PNP, while the children are under the care of the Lingap Center in Catarman.