PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has ordered an intensified campaign against sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC) and the availability of child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (CSAEM) in the country, Justice Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV said in a press briefing in Malacañang yesterday.
He said the President, who found the abuse cases alarming, issued the order during a sectoral meeting on Wednesday.
The cases and materials were found to be “rampant” in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Taguig cities, according to the Department of Justice’s Center for Anti-Online Child Sexual Abuse.
Marcos told the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the PNP to intensify monitoring both in the country and abroad, and instructed the Department of Justice and the police to go after child pornography perpetrators. He also ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other agencies to improve the investigation process to ensure the protection of children and proper family reintegration.
He also wants an enhanced collaboration among government, the private sector, and internet service providers on a local and global scale, as well as more awareness campaigns in schools and communities.
Clavano said the President was “visibly distressed, very bothered and clearly stressed with the information that was relayed to him.”
He said Marcos also directed the justice department to intensify talks with Facebook and other social media to remind them of their obligations under the law.
“Because a whole-of-government approach can’t solve the problem, the government has to collaborate with the private sector, non-government organizations, and social media platforms to fight such crimes,” he said.
He added that the DOJ has issued Department Circular 20 which requires prosecutors to work together with police officers to build quality cases in the prosecution of offenders.
Lawyer Margarita Magsaysay, executive director of the DOJ Center for Anti-Online Child Sexual Abuse, told the briefing the abuse cases and materials are “rampant” in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Taguig cities.
Asked what is common in the three areas, Magsaysay said it could be that there really is a high number of cases, which she said is a “bad thing,” or it could be that cases are
being reported, which she said is a “good thing.”
Clavano said based on the government’s key findings, poverty is a common reason cited by offenders.
He said the average victim age at the time of referral or rescue is 11 years while the youngest victim was less than a year old.
He said OSAEC victims are predominantly female (86 percent) while the 14 percent are male.
He added that OSAEC is a family-based crime wherein 41 percent of those facilitate the abuse are biological parents 42 percent are other relatives facilitate abuse.
In 2016, the Philippines was identified as a top global hotspot for OSAEC and CSAEM, but efforts have been ongoing to stop or at least address the issue.
Magsaysay also billions have been going around the OSAEC but people who have been engaging in such activities go as low as P200 or P300 per transaction.
She said the victims were mostly children from the poorer side of the country.
Presidential briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez said there was an increase in OSAEC cases during the coronavirus disease pandemic especially with the increase in unsupervised online activities of children.
“Unsupervised by parents, they are English-speaking so targeted sila ng mga predators abroad dahil madali silang kausap at mababait ang mga Filipinos, they’re hospitable, and again, easy and free access to the internet and mobile phones dito sa Pilipinas (Unsupervised by parents, they are English-speaking so targeted they are targeted by predators abroad because they are easy to talk to, Filipinos are kind, they’re hospitable, and again, easy and free access to the internet and mobile phones in the Philippines),” she added.
