Lockdowns contributed to online exploitation of kids, says Philippine envoy

Lockdowns played a big part in the worsened situation of online exploitation of children in the Philippines, Philippine Special Envoy to United Nations (UN) Nikki Teodoro said Tuesday.

At a Palace briefing, Teodoro was asked what could be the reasons why incidents of online exploitation have exacerbated despite the law against it.

She said lockdowns have played a big part to this, adding that "marketing" children for profit has been easy because of technology.

"It’s easy to come to the country. No need (for) a visa. Lockdown played a big part of parents actually, may I say, prostituting their children online... marketing, sorry, marketing their children online for profit," Teodoro said.

"Then the fact that It’s easy to put up a site. You put one, you can have ten at the same time, so it's technology that's made it easier for these perpetrators to market their children or our children," she added.

"It's gotten easier and it's gotten more lucrative so the lockdown played a big part and now we have to play a bigger part in protecting our children by reporting it immediately, " Teodoro said.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos also said people losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be one of the reasons why there is an increase in the number of online exploitation against children.

"We just came from a pandemic, remember this kind of a crime, sabi nga nila you could just do it in a bedroom... in a room, with a camera, with witnesses... just a child who's very innocent, so easy to do it," Abalos said in the same presser.

"Alam naman natin during pandemic, maraming naghirap, maraming walang trabaho (we know that during pandemic, many have gotten poor, many have lost their jobs), we cannot tell kung ano talaga ang reason nila pero it could be one of the factors bakit tumaas ito..." he added.

Abalos said from January to July of this year, 20 cases of online sexual exploitation of children have been reported in which six are under investigation.

For his part, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said they would exert all efforts in curbing online exploitation in the country.

"Since 2019 we are able to receive 378 referrals and then we were able to conduct 250 police operations, arrests were made and we were able to file 225 cases against perpetrators," Azurin said.

He said from January to August 2021, a total of 43 operations were conducted and 25 cases were filed. In the same period for this year, 29 operations were conducted and 20 cases have been filed, Azurin added. 

Cases solved from January to August 2021 were 11 while four cases have been solved in the same period in 2022, according to Azurin.

He added that 25 cases were cleared from January to August 2021 while 20 were cleared from January to August 2022. — RSJ, GMA News