The inside of the Cagayan de Oro City Council Hall. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Business owners in the city operating lodging houses and other forms of temporary accommodations must also be prosecuted for online sexual abuse of children.
This was one of the suggestions made by Jose Edgardo Uy, chief of the Regulatory Compliance Board (RCB), to the City Council's Committee on Women and Family Relations during a meeting on Thursday.
"Owners often get away by saying they did not know they (the abuser and victim) checked in at their facilities," Uy, a lawyer, said.
Uy was invited Thursday to the committee hearing led by its chairperson, 2nd District Councilor Joyleen Mercedes Balaba, for the drafting of an ordinance on Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).
One of RCB's functions is to check business establishments, which includes lodging houses, whether these have complied with ordinances.
Uy noted the previous cases OSAEC cases showed that lodging houses admitted minors into their establishments where they were found to be trafficked and sexually molested.
Meanwhile, Balaba said it is about time for the city to draft an ordinance on OSAEC that aligns with Republic Act 1193 or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, which lapsed into law in 2022.
Balaba formed a technical working group with members from different sectors to determine key features of the proposed ordinance. (PNA)
