President Marcos has ordered a centralized system using technology to make the Philippines the “absolute worst” place for the online sexual abuse of children and the creation of child sexual abuse materials, Malacañang said on Wednesday, June 5.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting on his administration's efforts against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials in Malacañang on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
Palace press briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez stressed that the Chief Executive, during a sectoral meeting on Tuesday, June 4, warned perpetrators of online child sex abuse.
“The Philippines is not a safe haven for people who abuse and exploit children. This is the absolute worst place for you and we will make sure you know it,” Marcos said, as quoted by the Palace press briefer on Wednesday.
During the sectoral meeting, the President was presented with the comprehensive and intensive action plan to combat online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM).
Using technology and specialized cybercrime mechanisms, Marcos ordered a centralized system for detecting and reporting OSAEC cases.
“OSAEC and CSAEM are borderless and hidden crimes that make all Filipino children vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse,” Oseña-Paez said.
“In line with the all government and whole-of-society approach, President Marcos ordered all relevant agencies to put the protection of children first and at the center of all programs and policies,” she added.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and other concerned agencies were instructed to prosecute perpetrators engaged in creating and distributing child sexual abuse materials “with the full weight of the law.”
According to Oseña-Paez, the Philippines was "once one of the global hotspots for OSAEC and the production of CSAEM,” but the Marcos administration aims to “emerge as one of the global leaders in preventing these crimes against our children.”
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said that there were 214 case referrals from the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC) for four years.
There were also 98 operations conducted, 413 rescued victims, 88 arrested, and 38 convicted from 2019 to 2024.
In April, Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV cited reports and research by the National Coordinating Council that parents and relatives of children are usually behind their exploitation on the internet.
The average age of OSAEC victims at the time of referral or rescue is 11 years old, with less than one year old being the youngest, Clavano had said, adding that there was one case of a three-month-old baby.
During the same briefing, lawyer Margarita Magsaysay, executive director of the DOJ Center for Anti-Online Child Sexual Abuse, reported that OSAEC and CSAEM have become rampant in Taguig, Iligan, and Cagayan de Oro.