Oro, Iligan and Ozamiz tagged child porn hotspots

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday established “Justice Zones” in the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Ozamiz to coordinate law enforcement efforts in the fight against online child sexual exploitation.

In these three major cities in Mindanao, cases of online child pornography, a form of violence against children, are on the rise.

According to Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, a “Justice Zone” is a place where the Supreme Court, together with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), can coordinate and streamline efforts against the proliferation of online child sexual exploitation, which has made the Philippines a hotspot for virtual child pornography.

“Crime targets the most vulnerable in our societies – those whom our systems and institutions of justice, care and protection should prioritize and care for,” Gesmundo said.

According to Gesmundo, the Ministry of Justice has received a staggering report of 2.74 million cyber tips regarding online child pornography in the country, making it the second largest country after India.

The Philippines has also been identified as a global center for the production of child pornography by the International Justice Mission (IJM), a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence.

According to Judge Maria Filomena Singh, these statistics show that nearly half a million Filipino children have been sexually abused and exploited to create images, videos and live streams that they sell to criminals around the world.

“These horrific statistics mean that one in every 100 Filipino children is a victim,” Singh said.

According to the International Justice Mission, most international sex offenders lure children, often through their Filipino parents, to perform via a live stream on the internet. Their photos and videos are then sold online.

According to the global organization, nearly a quarter of a million Filipino adults are involved in the trafficking of children to produce new material that sexually exploits children.

“It is easy to detect the production of online child pornography by monitoring internet use and international money transfers. Often it is the parents or relatives who are involved,” said Justice Minister Crispin Remulla.

On July 21, 2014, the Task Force Against Online Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation (OSAEC) of Iligan City arrested a woman for “using, persuading, instigating, directing and facilitating” the exploitation of six children in Barangay Suarez.

The six children, three of whom were the suspect’s children, were handed over to the Iligan City Social Welfare and Development Department.

“We cannot let this continue and we will not let this continue,” Gesmundo said.

Gesmundo said that unfortunately, government prosecutors and law enforcement agencies cannot deal with the complexities of crime involving technology.

He said this is why ‘Justice Zones’ have been organized in the three cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Ozamiz, where there have been reports of online child pornography.

“It goes beyond the victim-survivors who are exploited for sexual purposes using information and communication technologies. There are demand-side perpetrators and supply-side perpetrators. There are financial transactions. These highlight the difficulty,” Gesmundo said.

Justice Zones have also been set up in other major cities in the country, such as Cebu, Iloilo, Baguio and Davao.