British envoy praises Marcos’ strong stance against online child sexual abuse

Laure Beaufils, the British Ambassador to the Philippines, praised President Marcos’ strong stance against online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OSAEC).

Beaufils wrote in a post on X on Tuesday that Marcos’ recent speech at the OSAEC summit in Manila was “very powerful” as he outlined in his address his “unwavering commitment to eradicating online child sexual abuse” in the Philippines.

Beaufils added that the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) will also play its part in this objective.

On Monday, Marcos said the Philippine government has not done enough to protect victims of OSAEC.

He said the country must do more to protect victims, after asking why Filipinos are known for taking care of foreigners, especially children, but not their own.

“That we allow this to happen in our country brings me an overwhelming sense of shame because we as leaders of governments and in the public sector are not doing enough,” he said, noting that one in every 100,000 Filipinos is a victim.

Marcos became emotional when he made this comment.

“And the Philippines is becoming the epicenter of… online child sexual abuse and exploitation. And I am living it up to your imagination, and I imagine in some cases your imagination cannot even fathom what is being done to these poor children,” he added.

Marcos said that OSAEC is becoming more and more popular.

“So we need to do more,” he added, saying it was not a distant issue.