Protect children from online sexual abuse and exploitation

A very serious message from the President this week was about online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The issue moved President Marcos to tears, as it should move all of us citizens to do something to eradicate the “shame of the country.”

The saddest thing about online child sexual abuse is that it is perpetrated by those closest to the child, by family members who sell the child to perverts. The president called this a “sad reality” because they are “the people we expect to take care of them.”

He cited the ugly statistics that define this crime: half a million Filipinos, or one in every 100 Filipinos, have been victims, calling it a “dark reality.”

“It is a terrible statistic. We will not allow this to continue,” he said, calling it a “terrible plague of online child sexual abuse or exploitation that is still widespread in our country today.”

“That we are allowing this to happen in our country brings to me an overwhelming sense of shame, because we are in government, in public service, and we are not doing enough. We need to do more,” President Marcos said.

One of the government initiatives is the creation of the Presidential Office for Child Protection (PCOP) through Executive Order No. 67 in August 2024. The office is tasked with protecting children from physical and mental stress.

President Marcos said the POCP is a crucial step in the government’s fight against this crisis. It will serve as the “epicenter” of efforts, bringing together resources and strategies to ensure that every child in the country is protected and supported.

At the “Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Ngayon (One Nation, One Action: Stop Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children)” summit on September 16, the President discussed the measures the government should take to address this problem.

He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is committed to the fight against OSAEC. From 2022 to July 2024, the PNP has rescued more than 1,000 victims of OSAEC and human trafficking and arrested more than 100 suspects.

The horrific cases have made headlines. In April, a mother who offered her minor children for online sex shows for money was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Misamis Oriental. The woman was found “red-handed while offering her own daughters for an online sex show in exchange for a sum of money,” the report said. Three minors were rescued.

In July, a woman who was “selling” minors for ₱5,000 to ₱10,000 on social media was arrested by NBI agents following a lure operation in Manila. The agents rescued five victims, four of whom were minors.

The president said we need to do more. “If that’s the number of children we’ve saved, I can’t help but think, how many are left?”

“Strengthen our criminal justice system so that all perpetrators of these heinous crimes are put behind bars and made to pay for what they have done. And everyone should think not just twice, but 100 times before committing this abuse again,” President Marcos said.

This is a problem that every citizen should help eradicate. Allowing online sexual abuse to continue will destroy the moral fabric of our next generation. Report suspicious social media posts that imply the presence of online sexual abuse to Makabata Help Line 1383.

The president’s emphatic message should ring in our ears: “To our communities, this administration implores you to be suspicious, to be vigilant, and to report even the slightest suspicion of abuse.”