Survivor-Led Nonprofit Rescues Thousands of Trafficked Children in the Philippines

In 2025, Cecilia Oebanda-Pacis, the founder and director of the nonprofit Voice of the Free, continues her decades-long mission to rescue children from sex trafficking in the Philippines. Oebanda-Pacis established the organization in 1991 after being approached by a mother whose daughter had gone missing in Manila.

Over the past 30 years, Voice of the Free has partnered with law enforcement to rescue tens of thousands of girls from brothels, nightclubs, and online exploitation. The nonprofit operates several shelters, including the Center of Hope, which provides a safe haven and support for survivors. One resident, a woman named Ave, shares her harrowing story of being trafficked at age 9. Ave was lured from her family's farm to Manila, where she was brutally exploited online and in person for five years until police intervened.

Oebanda-Pacis, the daughter of political dissidents who was imprisoned during the Marcos regime, has built an extensive network of allies in the government, businesses, and communities to combat the country's child sex trafficking crisis. Her new goal is to expand community-based treatment programs so that rescued children can heal closer to home. Despite the immense challenges, Oebanda-Pacis and her team remain committed to providing "acceptance and love" to the girls in their care, empowering them to become the next generation of the resistance.