Trafficker Gets Life Imprisonment
November 7, 2019 · By Francis B. Bermido, Jr.
Trafficker Gets Life Imprisonment
Francis B. Bermido Jr.
A large majority of the girls in the Preda Home belong to dysfunctional families and were victims of domestic abuse and violence from an early age. These neglected and abused children then take to the streets to survive, escape the beatings and sexual abuse in their homes. On the streets, they are most vulnerable to unscrupulous traffickers who pick them up and put them in bondage to be trafficked and sexually exploited. That is exactly what five girls from the town of Subic experienced in 2017 until they were rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and put under the protective custody of the Preda Foundation. Last month, Michael Macaranas was convicted for two counts of trafficking and was sentenced to a life in prison and to pay his victims moral and exemplary damages.
In her decision dated October 7, 2019 Judge Ma. Cristina J. Mendoza-Pizarro noted that Macaranas took advantage of the plight of these runaway children by showing them “compassion and understanding” as his way of enticing these young children to his fold and make them do as he pleases. Judge Mendoza-Pizarro also said knowledge or consent of a minor is not a defense under Republic Act 9208. She said “the victim’s consent is rendered meaningless due to coercive, abusive or deceptive means employed by perpetrators of human trafficking. A minor’s consent is not given out of his or her own free will.” This wise judgment of Judge Mendoza-Pizarro means the so-called consent that the trafficker claims was given by a minor cannot be recognized as free choice since there is deception and manipulation by the trafficker.
The five children, while at the Preda Foundation, went through a series of counseling and participated in emotional release therapy. These empowered them to tell their stories in court in a straight-forward and consistent manner that contributed to the successful conviction of the trafficker.
This brings to 18 the number of convictions won by children in 2019 helped by the Preda Foundation in its work to combat human trafficking and heal the emotional and psychological wounds of the victims.
Life in prison is tough sentence but it is only when justice is done and seen to be done by the rule of law will human trafficking be brought to an end, if that is ever possible. The lives of the young victims could have been totally destroyed by the crimes committed against them if not for the Preda Foundation social workers, paralegal officer and therapists and the dedicated prosecutor Fiscal Joy P. Bayona and Judge Ma. Cristina J. Mendoza-Pizarro. The Preda Foundation commends them all in bringing freedom, closure and justice for the victims who deserve a happier and better life.
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