Sign bill protecting children from online abuse, Duterte urged

MANILA, Philippines — A senior administration lawmaker from the House of Representatives has called on President Duterte to sign the Congress-approved measure protecting children against online abuse and sexual exploitation even if he has only four more days left in office.

Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. LRay Villafuerte underscored the need for the bill ratified last month by the Senate and House to be signed into law the soonest, specifically House Bill 10703, or the Anti-Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children, which the lower chamber approved overwhelmingly in February.

Both chambers ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the measure.

“As sick as it may appear, as children stay at home due to quarantine restrictions, they are at risk to online sex trafficking and exploitation. The perpetrators, other than the usual pimps and child traffickers, are sometimes the parents of the victims themselves,” Villafuerte said.

His proposal, which aims to impose stiffer penalties against internet service providers (ISPs) found to have willingly and knowingly allowed the use of their servers or facilities for child pornography, is outlined under HB 7947, which he filed in the 18th Congress.

“The internet should be a safe space for our children, especially now that we are more dependent on it for education. This bill seeks to provide more protection to our children and further increase its penalties over ISPs to further deter the commission of such crimes,” Villafuerte said.

He cited the findings of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which he branded as “alarming,” where its Office of Cybercrime (OOC) department reported a 264.6-percent rise in reports of Filipino children being sexually abused over the internet by pedophiles.

This is from the period of March 1 to May 24, 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

The bill ratified by Congress strengthens the protection for children by requiring internet intermediaries and other internet or payment service providers to take down or remove websites that stream illegal content of abuse of minors.

Also included are stiffer penalties for those involved in cases of child abuse and the formation of the National Coordinating Center against online abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

The Inter-Agency Council against Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation will be established to implement the provisions of the act, including the development of a system of reporting and protocols in detecting, averting and prosecuting such crimes.

Under the measure, internet intermediaries and other internet or payment service providers are required to block, take down or remove websites that stream illegal content of abuse of minors.

Meanwhile, Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, who is an author of the measure, said the pandemic has worsened the occurrences of online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) with the loss of sources of livelihood and the surge of online activities of minors, among others.

“A study by the United Nations Children’s Fund showed that one in five Filipino children are vulnerable to OSEC, with boys found to be as vulnerable to sexual exploitation as girls,” Romualdez said.

“One in five children is one child too many,” she added.

Romualdez cited the DOJ-OOC, stating that she received at least 600,000 child sexual abuse materials involving Filipino children in 2018.

“The true strength of our nation is seen in the smiles of children. The well-being, integrity and safety of our children is the most precious gift that we can give them,” she said.