Marcos admin declares 'war' against child exploitation

Following the alarming rise in cases, the Philippine government on Tuesday declared war against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).

At a media briefing with several Cabinet members, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said the administration will not hesitate to “charge” and “prosecute” all individuals who are directly and indirectly participating in the heinous crime.

“We’re declaring a war on this… Lahat ng pwedeng gawin ng bansa (All the country can do), 100% of law enforcement is here and 100% of jails and correctional facilities are here. The BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) and the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) under us are here to make sure that we will reserve a place for those who’ll insist on doing what they do. Law enforcement and jail are here with us as well as the DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology), the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), the PNP (Philippine National Police), and their cybercrime units,” Remulla told reporters. “We will be there for anybody who’ll insist on perpetuating this crime.”

Officials at the media briefing said the Philippines is at the center of an industry that exploits and harms children. No study or data on it was presented during the briefing but Social Welfare and Development Secretary Erwin Tulfo explained it is an “ongoing problem” that has been left out due to the myriad of issues plaguing the country.

“Unfortunately, the focus was on pandemic for the past two years. Naka-focus tayo sa pandemic, we focused on the war on drugs, we focused on graft and corruption… Matagal nang problema ito, hindi lang naa-address because we’re so busy with other problems. Pandemic, war on drugs, terrorism sa Mindanao, ito 'yung mga issues na natatabunan s'ya. It has been there and it’s a big problem pero hindi nabibigyan ng pansin. Kaya right now, this administration is keen and very serious on stopping this,” said Tulfo.

(Unfortunately, the focus was on the pandemic for the past two years. We focused on the pandemic, war on drugs, graft and corruption. This has been an ongoing problem but was not addressed because we’re so busy with other problems such as the pandemic, war on drugs, terrorism in Mindanao. It has been there and it’s a big problem but we did not give it attention. That’s why right now, this administration is keen and very serious on stopping this.)

UNICEF Philippines defined OSAEC as any act of exploitative nature carried out against any child with the use of an electronic device or any medium that can connect to the internet at any point of the abuse.

This can include manipulating or threatening a child into performing sexual acts in front of a webcam, grooming victims online, distributing, importing, exporting, or selling child sexual exploitation, and knowingly obtaining access to child sexual exploitation material online even if the abuse depicted in the material was carried out offline.

In 2020, the DOJ saw a 264.63% increase in reports of OSAEC cases connected to the Philippines from March to May that year — the same period when restrictions were strict due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presidential envoy to UNICEF Nikki Prieto-Teodoro attributed the worsened child exploitation problems in the country to the Philippines’ accessibility and the lockdowns.

“It’s easy to come to the country. Lockdown played a big part of parents prostituting, marketing their children online for profit. It’s easy to put up a site,” she said.

To put an end to this, Remulla said the government will take a “comprehensive approach” by tapping both other state departments and private sectors, including telecommunication companies.

“The comprehensive approach, AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Council) is there, the DICT is here. We’re asking the telcos to put filters on their system. We’re not leaving any stone unturned. This comprehensive approach is the one that will get things done,” he added.

The Philippines ranked for the seventh straight year under the Tier 1 of the  2022 Trafficking in Persons Report of the US State Department. This means the country has “made efforts to address the problem" that meet the "minimum standards" of the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.—AOL, GMA News