ANTI-OSAEC ENFORCEMENT. Armien Aloro (left), the executive assistant of Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao, and City Councilor Rosevi Queenie Belmonte recall their experiences dealing with Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC). Iligan City once ranked third nationwide in terms of OSAEC cases, according to non-governmental organization International Justice Mission, but is no longer in the top 10 as of 2023. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
(Special Report; 2nd of 3 parts)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The second half of 2022 marked the first term of office of Iligan Mayor Frederick Siao.
Armien Aloro, an executive assistant, said she handled several tasks in the local government.
One of those tasks was representing Iligan City in a multi-stakeholder gathering here in September 2022, organized by non-governmental organization International Justice Mission (IJM).
Aloro said Iligan City was the lone local government unit (LGU) in the gathering.
“I thought there would be an announcement, something of a recognition,” she said.
To her dismay, she was told that her city had some of the worst cases of Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) in the country.
“We were informed (by IJM representatives) that we were a hotspot. We were surprised,” Aloro said.
According to IJM data, Iligan City was ranked third nationwide and first in Mindanao.
Case data
A report by IJM published in September 2023 also bared that the one of every 100 Filipino children who were victims of trafficking were also subjects of child sexual exploitation materials (CSEM) in 2022.
The projected number of CSEMs reached 471,416, while the estimated number of adult traffickers of children who produced child sexual materials totaled 232,444.
Department of Social Welfare and Development records in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) showed that trafficking in relation to OSAEC was most prevalent in 2019 and 2021.
Responding to the Philippine News Agency request for data, Brig. Gen. Ricardo Layug Jr., director of Police Regional Office-10, said of 23 reports received by the Women and Children Protection Desks in every LGU from 2019 to 2023, Iligan City and Lanao del Norte province had eight each; Misamis Occidental province had five cases; and Misamis Oriental and this city had one case each.
Records only showed OSAEC cases and exclude other forms of abuse without the primary use of the Internet.
Landmark ordinance
Aloro, who is also acting focal person of the City's Social Welfare and Development, found an ally in Councilor Rosevi Queenie Belmonte.
On Nov. 24 and 25 last year, Aloro and Belmonte joined an IJM-organized workshop for local legislators in Manila.
The Iligan LGU then organized a training on internet crimes against children on the same month.
Belmonte eventually filed Ordinance 23-7283 that penalizes OSAEC activities and establishes support mechanisms for victims.
“The steps to move forward is to not let our guard down. It doesn't mean that if Iligan is out of the most cases of OSAEC (in the Philippines), we will stop,” Belmonte said.
When Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act took effect on July 30, 2022, Iligan City had three convictions, according to Belmonte.
No longer in top 10
“From number one [in Mindanao], we became number four, and until last year, we are no longer in the top 10 [of OSAEC cases] because we are constantly doing a lot of rescues,” Aloro said.
Even with robust enforcement and dynamic policymaking, Belmonte said the fight against online sexual abuses and exploitation “is not over yet.”
“Our dream now has shifted, that is working on anti-OSAEC drives so that we will never be on any list again,” she said. (PNA)
(Editors' Note: This story was produced under the 2023-24 “WebSafeandWise” Media Fellowship by Probe Media Foundation Inc. and ChildFund Philippines. The views and opinions expressed in this piece are not necessarily those of PMFI, ChildFund Philippines and the Philippine News Agency. Names and locations involved in OSAEC cases are withheld to protect the identities of the victims)
