A very serious message from the President this week was on the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
The problem moved President Marcos to tears, as it should move all of us citizens to do something to eradicate the “country’s shame.”
The saddest part of online sexual abuse of children is that it is perpetuated by those closest to the child, by family members who sell them to perverts. The President called this a “sad reality” because they are “the very people that we expect to care for them.”
He cited the ugly statistics that define this crime — half a million Filipinos, or one in every 100 Filipinos, have been victimized, calling it a “dark reality.”
“It is an appalling statistic. We will not allow it to continue,” he said, calling it a “horrible scourge of online sexual abuse or exploitation of children, which remains widespread now in our country.”
“For us to allow this to happen in our country, it brings to me an overwhelming sense of shame because being in government, being in public service, we are not doing enough. We must do more,” President Marcos said.
One government initiative is the creation of the Presidential Office for Child Protection (PCOP) through Executive Order No. 67, in August 2024. The office is tasked to help protect children from physical and mental distress.
President Marcos said the POCP is a critical 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 summit of “Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) Ngayon (One Nation, One Action: End Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children)” on Sept. 16, the President discussed government action on the problem.
He said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is committed to fight OSAEC. From 2022 to July 2024, the PNP has rescued more than 1,000 victims of OSAEC and trafficking in persons, and arrested more than 100 suspects.
The appalling cases have been in the news. In April, a mother, who offered for monetary consideration her minor children for online sex shows, was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Misamis Oriental. The woman was found “in flagrante delicto (caught in the act) offering her own daughters for an online sexual show in exchange for a sum of money,” the report said. Three minors were rescued.
In July, a woman “selling” minors for ₱5,000 to ₱10,000 over social media was arrested by NBI agents after an entrapment operation in Manila. The agents rescued five victims, four of them minors.
The President said we need to do more. “If that is the number of the children we have saved, I cannot help but think, how many are still left out there?”
“Strengthen our criminal justice system so all perpetrators of these abhorrent crimes are put behind bars and made to pay for what they have done. And everyone should think not only twice but 100 times before committing this abuse again,” President Marcos said.
This is a problem which each citizen should help to 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, be watchful, and report even the slightest inkling of abuse.”