Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian led agency officials in a meeting with representatives of META Philippines, the mother company of the popular Facebook social media platform, on Thursday (June 13) at the Central Office in Quezon City.

The meeting was the result of the letter sent by the Office of the DSWD Secretary (OSEC) to META Philippines in connection with the proliferation of Facebook accounts being used in the online selling of babies in the guise of adoption.

“We have created a working relationship with META whether to report to them directly or through reporting channels to create a more robust mechanism. And to also work with them on developing a campaign against human trafficking,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

The meeting was attended by Undersecretary for International Affairs, Attached and Supervised Agencies (ASAs) Emmeline Aglipay Villar, Asst. Secretary Elaine Fallacurna and Undersecretary Janella Estrada, executive director of the NACC.

“We have to treat this (online illegal adoption) with the same severity on how META takes immediate action on the violations of the Anti-OSAEC (Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children) law,” Secretary Gatchalian told the META representatives.

During the meeting at the DSWD chief’s office, Usec. Estrada told META that 16 of the 23 reported Facebook pages were already taken down but new pages were being created by those behind the online selling of infants.

Usec. Estrada asked META Philippines Director for Public Policy Clare Amador for the immediate taking down of the FB pages that clearly engage in the illegal selling of babies online.

Secretary Gatchalian instructed Usec. Janella to create a team in NACC that will monitor these pages and work with META to create a more robust mechanism that will be beneficial in fighting this form of human trafficking.#