The number of convictions for violations of Republic Act (RA) 11930, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, has increased since the passage of the law in 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday, April 25.
“Since 2009 there have been 523 convictions out of the 750 cases filed. When the law was passed in 2022, out of the 523, almost 200 convictions were achieved," said DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic F. Clavano during a briefing in Malacanang.
But Clavano lamented that "this number (of convictions) is still not satisfactory to the government and to the President.”
“We still have to ramp up the number of cases being filed in court,” he said.
He recaounted that during a meeting with President Marcos last Wednesday, April 24, the President was “visibly distressed, very bothered, and clearly stressed” over the OSAEC and CSAEM situation in the Philippines.
Thus, he said, the President gave “a very strong directive to the DOJ, to the PNP (Philippine National Police), and other law enforcement agencies to further intensify the efforts.”
He stressed that the problem needs not only a whole government approach but also the "the help of the private sector, the social media platforms where these crimes usually occur.”
He cited that the DOJ has started to intensify talks with Facebook and to remind them of their obligations under the law, he cited.
National Coordinating Council on OSAEC and CSAEM (NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM) Executive Director Margarita F. Magsaysay noted that, since August 2023, Meta, also known as Facebook, has 81 take downs of OSAEC and CSAEM materials.
“We are getting cooperation,” said Magsaysay.
But she admitted that “sometimes merong lapses rin (sometimes there are also lapses).”
“We hope to be able to mandate ‘yung mga (those) internet service providers to continuously upgrade their system,” she said.
She lamented that OSAEC and CSEM has been found to be very lucrative.
She cited suspicious transaction reports (STR) on OSAEC and CSAEM from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) stating that there had been 68,214 transactions worth P996,705,339.80 in 2021 and 92,200 transactions in 2022 amounting to P478,278,797.81.