Philippine E-Journals

A STUDY ON THE PHILIPPINE ANTI-MAIL-ORDER BRIDE ACT OF 1990

Monica Shane A. Iqbal | Ronald Brian G. Evangelista

 

Abstract:

Under Philippine laws, the Mail-Order Bride (MOB) Phenomenon is a mechanism of human trafficking. However, the Philippines remains to be the top exporter of MOBs in Asia. And the presence of advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) seem to have given Marriage Brokers (exploiters) a way to circumvent the law, specifically by the operations of such exploiters. This research aimed to determine if there is a need to amend Republic Act 6955 (RA 6955), otherwise known as the Philippine Anti-Mail-Order Bride Act (PAMOBA) of 1990 through qualitative examination of the effect of advancements in ICTs in its implementation based on the interviews of stakeholders (experts).
The narratives were grouped by themes and analyzed through the use of a dendrogram. Stakeholders claim that ICTs are helpful in both the implementation of programs that augment the law and the operations of the MOB. The results ascertain that the advancements of ICTs affect both the operations of exploiters and the stakeholders— that it had helped the sophistication of operations of exploiters, and had helped the stakeholders and victims in the identification and subsequent prosecution of exploitation as well as to strengthen the fight against human-trafficking via this mechanism.