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The Department of Justice (DOJ) vowed to intensify its efforts to prosecute individuals and groups involved in the sexual exploitation of minors online.
Attorney General Menardo I. Guevarra issued his pledge in response to Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian’s call for the DOJ, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) to investigate reports of students selling photos and obscene videos. of themselves to raise cash to pay tuition fees.
Gatchalian also urged the two agencies to intensify their campaign to protect minors and students from sexual exploitation online.
“We welcome the possible enactment of a new law that would strengthen the legal framework for the government’s campaign against human trafficking in cyberspace, particularly the online sexual exploitation of children and minors,” said Guevarra.
“While we await the passage of this legislation, the Department of Justice, although its Office of Cyber Crimes and the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] The CyberCrime Division will intensify its efforts to combat cybercrime and all forms of human trafficking via the Internet, which are expected to increase during these limited times of interaction and physical movement, ”added the DOJ secretary.
Using the hashtags #AlterPH, #AlterPinay and #AlterPhilippines, Gatchalian said students sell their photos and videos on social media platforms for as little as P150.
Gatchalian said that DepEd should push forward its child protection program considering that child protection committees (CPCs) in schools are tasked with identifying and helping students who may be experiencing abuse and exploitation.
Previously, the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO) urged the Justice Department to push for the amendment of Section 9 of the Republic Law 9775 or the Child Pornography Law of 2009, which according to the PCTO contained contradictory provisions that hinder the performance of their mandate under the law.
The PCTO is the umbrella organization for duly licensed telecommunications entities and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. The PCTO said its members have been coordinating closely with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). and law enforcement agencies in blocking child pornography sites.
The group noted that Section 9 of RA 9775 requires ISPs to monitor the content that passes through their servers and to inform authorities of any Internet addresses that may contain any form of child pornography.
However, it also states that “nothing in this section can be construed as requiring an ISP to participate in the monitoring of any user, subscriber or customer, of the content of any communication from such person.” According to the PCTO, this overrides and prevents Internet service providers from complying with the obligations imposed by Section 9.
The PCTO noted that RA 10173 (Data Privacy Act 2012) imposes strict privacy responsibilities on entities that collect or process personal information from customers, contradicting the obligations imposed on ISPs under RA 9775.
The Department of Justice previously urged ISPs to meet their obligation under RA 9775 after child sexual exploitation online reportedly increased by more than 260 percent during the enhanced community quarantine period.
The NTC, which is an active member of the Interagency Council Against Child Pornography established by RA 9775, has so far supported telecommunications companies and ISPs more than 6,000 websites and links for blocking.
As of September last year, telecom operators and ISPs blocked a total of 2,521 child pornography websites.
