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Guevarra vows to continue running after online sexual exploitation of children

Philippines | National

Guevarra vows to continue running after online sexual exploitation of children

By Jeffrey Damicog

The Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) will continue to pursue perpetrators of online sexual trafficking of children (OSEC), assured Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday (Jan 6).

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO /MANILA BULLETIN)

“The Inter-Agency Council Against (Human) Trafficking (IACAT), co-chaired by the DOJ and the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare), has been hot on the trail of OSEC perpetrators during the last few years. Many cases have been filed in court and convictions secured,” he told reporters.

The secretary made the assurance after the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) released a report which showed that there have been P113.1 million worth of suspicious transactions related to child pornography from January to June in 2020.

Meanwhile, Guevarra said he will “request the AMLC for a copy of the report and refer the matter to the IACAT for appropriate action.”

“The IACAT is very much aware of the geographical areas (usually poverty-stricken areas) where victims abound and in what countries the predators are usually based,” he said.

“It just so happened that the numbers have gone up in recent months, clearly because of the economic hardship, as well as the dark opportunities, engendered by this pandemic,” he added.

In its “Child pornography in the Philippines” bulletin, the AMLC said that P113.1 million suspicious transactions observed during the first half of 2020 is higher than the P65.8 million monitored in 2019.

With this, the AMLC added that the volume of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) reached 27,217 from January to June in 2020.

The body said the figure is more than twice the 10,627 STRs reported the entire 2019.

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