THE PLDT Group lauded the government’s establishment of the Office for Child Protection (POCP) that will combat rising cases of online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC).
POCT was created through Executive Order No. 67 issued on August 6 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to monitor and harmonize government policies and programs involving the welfare and protection of children, anti-OSAEC, anti-child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (CSAEM) and anti-child trafficking matters.
“ The PLDT Group’s commitment is to ensure that Filipinos have access not just to consistent high-speed connectivity, but also to safe and secure experiences online,” said Manuel Pangilinan, PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. chairman and chief executive officer.
As of end-June 2024, PLDT and Smart’s Child Protection Platform has blocked more than 28 billion attempts to open malicious domains. The company said it also prevented more than 662,000 attempts to open OSAEC URLs and contents. Since June 2021, PLDT and Smart have blacklisted more than 1 million URLs and contents tied to CSAEM.
“At PLDT and Smart, we identify children as part of our most active end-users and as family members of our employees and customers. Cognizant of this, we are committed to the protection and promotion of children’s rights. Having a child rights lens thus aligns with our efforts to make the digital environment safer – part of our doing business responsibly,” said Melissa Vergel de Dios, PLDT and Smart chief sustainability officer.
PLDT and Smart established their child safeguarding initiative back in 2018, including significant investments in pioneering technology, active engagement with local and international stakeholders including policymakers, regulators and law enforcement, and implementation of awareness projects and grassroots initiatives.
The PLDT Group said these efforts to protect children and to beef up its digital infrastructure, particularly cybersecurity, are grounded in its drive to put customers at the heart of its operations.
