An investigation in aid of legislation into the proliferation of online child sexual abuse is being sought after by Deputy Speaker and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar.

Villar filed House Resolution 453 seeking the congressional inquiry following reports that the Philippines is the top producer of child pornography in the world.

The House leader noted the prevalence of cybersex trafficking resulting to abuse of minors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There is a need to protect children from different types of online abuses, especially since the pandemic has had a profound impact on the way children use the Internet as they spent more time online,” she said in her resolution, a copy of which was sent to the media on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

“This form of abuse is one of the most pressing issues involving Filipino children today,” Villar added.

The resolution cited that the Philippines has been named as the “global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade” as early as 2016.

“The country also ranks second in cybercrime vulnerability which exposes greater risks to minors and children who are the most vulnerable as they spend most of their time online,” it read.

Reports also showed that even parents or close relatives act as traffickers for their child.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 20 percent of Internet-using children aged 12 to 17 in the Philippines were victims of online sexual exploitation and abuse, which includes “being blackmailed to engage in sexual activities, someone sharing their sexual images without their permission, or being coerced to engage in sexual activities through promises of money or gifts.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reported online child sexual exploitation nearly tripled during the quarantine, with 279,166 reported incidents from March 1 to May 24, 2020 compared with 76,561 cases logged during the same period in 2019.

The DOJ’s Office of Cybercrime saw an exponential increase in cyber tip reports—or those which are not actually confirmed cases—to 2.8 million cases in 2021, from 1.2 million in 2020 and about 400,000 in 2019.

“Online sexual exploitation of children, which includes child pornography and abuse, is one of gravest and most alarming forms of human trafficking that is happening in the Philippines,” said Villar.

“Children who experience abuse often do not understand that was done to them was a form of abuse and it is important to make them understand that such acts are illegal that may bring them trauma,” Villar's resolution read.