PNP chief, Gen. Debold Sinas. (File photo)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday said it will expand ties with foreign counterparts to crack down on online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSEAC).
“We are exploring other avenues for greater cooperation and coordination to protect children from abuse and exploitation,” PNP chief, Gen. Debold Sinas said in a statement, adding that the police force's PNP Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) has launched a series of operations against these activities.
He said on Feb. 3, in coordination with local police and the social welfare development offices of Angeles and Tarlac cities, the WCPC rescued 20 children who were coerced into online pornography and arrested four suspects, two of whom are mothers of some of the victims across Central Luzon.
In Angeles City, the WCPC Luzon Field Unit, with information from the Australian Federal Police, launched an investigation that led to the identification and eventual rescue of nine victims, of which seven are children and the arrest of a suspect.
The operation stemmed from the arrest of an Australian perpetrator that is linked to a Filipino OSAEC facilitator based in the Philippines.
“The Australian Federal Police, a partner agency of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre (PICACC), referred intelligence into the PICACC resulting in the investigation led by the Philippine National Police,” Australian Federal Police senior officer to the Philippines, Detective Supt. Andrew Perkins said in a separate statement.
In Tarlac City, the WCPC, through the Transnational Criminal Investigative Task Force (TCITF), acting on the information from the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), rescued nine children, and arrested three suspects.
“Through these strong partnerships we are able to identify and rescue those who are victimized through online sexual exploitation and bring those responsible to justice both in the Philippines and the United States,” said Ricardo Navalta, the US Homeland Security Investigations attaché in the country.
Still in Tarlac City, the WCPC through its Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division rescued four children with abused materials after having been identified through a proactive online investigation.
PNP-WCPC chief, Brig. Gen. Alessandro Abella appealed to the public to report cases of online child abuse and exploitation to AlengPulis on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pnpwcpc.alengpulis.
“The President has spoken, OSAEC must be addressed and perpetrators brought to justice. The WCPC is committed to this order from the President,” Abella said. (PNA)
