Crackdown on cyber criminals to be intensified

During the Inter-Agency Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children press conference held Tuesday in Malacañang, Abalos said the meeting was meant to erase the country’s record in this regard. (File photo: Clint Patterson/Unsplash)

MANILA – Law enforcement agencies will intensify its campaign against cybercriminals, especially those engaged in child exploitation online who are usually foreigners in different parts of the world, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said on Tuesday.

These deplorable acts, according to Abalos, violates Republic Act (RA) 9775 (Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009), and RA 9208 (Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act).

The DILG chief stressed that online sexual exploitation of children is primarily a “mere production for the purpose of online publication of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor in exchange for compensation.’’

He said his department in coordination with the local government units (LGUs), together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the technology experts are the major forces out to thwart the syndicates involved in child exploitation.

The DILG chief said all masterminds and syndicates involved in child abuse can easily be tracked down through the use of modern technology and can later be brought to court via the prosecuting arm of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“We are going to put a stop to all of this, we are going to show them that we are serious about stopping them. Talagang nagkakaisa lahat, kanya kanyang expertise. Kami sa DILG we’re with the LGUs. DILG is the interior, interior is the police, the BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection) and the jail, and the women, the Commission of Women of Youth and Muslims, governors pababa (We are one in going after these cyber criminals. We in the DILG, we’re with the LGUs and the police; the BFP and the jail; and the women, the Commission of Women of Youth and Muslims; from governors down the line),” Abalos said.

“Kailangan talaga namin mahuli ang lahat ng ito (we really need to catch them all) thru this technology experts, and of course, andito ang prosecution arm — DOJ, that will collate the cases that will be filed. We (also) have our friend from the United Nations from the Homeland, importante yun dahil sa abroad,” he added.

Abalos pointed to poverty caused by the global coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic could be the main reason in the rise of child abuse cases in the Philippines.

“We just came from (Covid-19) pandemic. Remember this kind of crime, others say can be done in a room with a camera. The child victim is very innocent, so easy to do it,’’ Abalos said in Filipino.

The DILG chief said all masterminds and syndicates involved in child abuse can easily be tracked down through the use of modern technology and later be brought to court via the prosecuting arm of the DOJ.

However, Abalos said not all are pleased with the government’s efforts to end child abuse after a mayor told him that the parents of a child asked him point blank where they would get the monthly income of PHP20,000 to PHP30,000 after his men arrested an individual exploiting children in his hometown.

During the Inter-Agency Against Online Sexual Exploitation of Children press conference held Tuesday in Malacañang, Abalos said the meeting was meant to erase the country’s record in this regard.

Present during the meeting were DOJ Secretary Crispin Remulla, DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., National Bureau Investigation (NBI) Chief Medardo De Lemos, Homeland Security: US Embassy-Manila attaché, Ricardo Navalta, and Nikki Teodoro, UN Envoy Member.

Abalos said the inter-agency fight against child exploitation is important as it has a negative effect on the children as it violates their rights, give them a feeling of shame, unworthiness, and withdrawal from their peers, among others, even if their faces are not shown in video clips.

For his part, Azurin said the PNP is ready to stop child exploitation who are victims of this online sexual abuse.

Based on the PNP’s data, Azurin reported that a total of 71 suspects were convicted for child exploitation and trafficking while other similar cases are currently ongoing trials since 2016.

From Jan. to Aug. this year, he said the PNP, with its intensified operation, has filed 20 cases against child exploiters and traffickers.

Since 2019, Azurin said the PNP had received 378 referrals where 225 cases were filed against the perpetrators out of the 250 police operations made.

“So our comparative data from Jan. to Aug. 2021 meron po tayong 43 operations na kinonduct, and for this year from Jan. to Aug. 2022, meron po tayong 29 operations that were conducted by your PNP (So our comparative data from Jan. to Aug. 2021, we had 43 operations conducted, and for this year from Jan. to Aug. 2022, we had 29 operations that were conducted by your PNP),’’ he added.

From Jan. to Aug. last year, Azurin revealed that the PNP solved 11 child exploitation and trafficking cases, while there were four similar incidents solved for the same period this year.

The country’s top cop acknowledged the importance of this briefing which fosters the government’s closer coordination with the public and stakeholders in addressing the problems of child exploitation and trafficking in the country.

“Ang inyo pong kapulisan sa buong Pilipinas ay handa po na tumulong po sa atin pong adhikain na matigil na po ang mga child exploitation lalong lalo na yung batang bata po na nabibiktima po nitong online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (Your police force in the entire Philippines is ready to help in the advocacy to end child exploitation especially to the younger ones who are victimized by online sexual abuse and exploitation),’’ Azurin said.