LEGISLATIVE STEPS. Joyleen Mercedes Balaba (center) leads the consultative meeting with representatives of the local government of Cagayan de Oro City and other community sectors on Jan. 18, 2024. Balaba, chair of the committee on social services and committee on women and family relations, is planning to file an ordinance that would strengthen the enforcement against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children. (PNA photo by Nef Luczon)
(Special Report: Last of 3 parts)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – 2024 came as a fresh start for the city government to do something about Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).
Leading the filing of an ordinance for the purpose is 2nd District City Councilor Joyleen Mercedes Balaba.
The anti-OSAEC measure in the local council would complement the national law passed in 2022 – Republic Act (RA) 11930, or the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act.
Balaba, who chairs the city council’s committee on social services and committee on women and family relations, organized a multi-sectoral hearing to cover the sentiments in the proposed legislation on anti-OSAEC.
“Cagayan de Oro City has become a highly urbanized city, and even though the Internet speed is still not fast, compared to other LGUs, it is apparent that almost every household has connectivity,” she said.
In the committee hearing last month, 1st District Councilor Romeo Calizo proposed a Technical Working Group (TWG), where representatives of the city government would come up with a report on the state of the city when it comes to OSAEC as a basis for crafting the proposed ordinance.
This TWG will include the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, the City Council for the Protection of Children (CCPC), and the Regulatory Compliance Board (RCB).
The CCPC was created by the city as the umbrella organization for all children's concerns, which was tasked to advocate children's rights, and OSAEC has been a growing concern as of late.
Prosecution of offenders
RCB chief Jose Edgardo Uy suggested a provision in the proposed ordinance that business owners operating lodging houses and other forms of temporary accommodations would be found guilty of hosting OSAEC incidents.
“Owners often get away by saying they did not know they (the abuser and victim) checked in at their facilities,” he said.
Lawyer Louie Borja of the City Prosecution Office said most of the offenders are often relatives of the victims, and during the trial, the victims fear testifying.
He proposed at the committee meeting with Balaba that the use of video testimony be considered as court evidence so that the victims could share all their experiences and knowledge without being near the offenders in the physical courtroom.
Borja is currently handling cases involving a foreign national who was charged with child pornography, which is also related to OSAEC.
Lt. Nera Cabrera, chief of the Women and Children Protection Desk of the Iligan City Police Office, said there were cases they followed where some OSAEC victims were also trafficked in this city.
“There were cases in the offenders and the foreign clients agreed to meet in Cagayan de Oro City or would get their money remittances there,” she said.
If Balaba's ordinance on anti-OSAEC enforcement is passed this year, the city will become the second LGU in Northern Mindanao to have such legislation, next to Iligan City.
Policing the cyberspace
The police’s Region 10 Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) 10 (Northern Mindanao) recorded OSAEC cases in the region even before RA 11930 became law.
From 2018 to 2023, RACU-10 operatives, in coordination with LGUs and non-government organizations (NGOs), were able to arrest 34 persons linked to OSAEC-related cases and conducted 19 rescue operations.
Before 2022, offenders accused of OSAEC were charged with violation of RA 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, and RA 10364, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.
RA 9775 has been amended and is now part of RA 11930.
Staff Sgt. Idy Ann Flor Aca-ac, RACU-10 head of the Women and Children Protection Section, said the surveillance of OSAEC cases would be done with the help of the international group, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
“They developed a case management system, which was adopted by the DOJ (Department of Justice), and we have seen results in our case buildup,” she said.
Aca-ac said NCMEC's case management system improved the “cybertip” mechanism in RACU-10, which helped them identify and monitor online activities.
“We have cases here of Internet users using government emails, who were reported as potential OSAEC materials being sent or forwarded; the rest were common email domains,” she said.
Once suspects are identified, Aca-ac said authorities would start the investigation and operational planning.
Helpline
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 10, meanwhile, has extended support to the victims of OSAEC through temporary shelters.
Social Worker Honey Grace Mendoza, DSWD-10 focal for the Trafficking in Persons Unit, said these shelters are also a refuge for other trafficking victims, where they receive support and interventions, including assistance to LGUs who have no existing safe shelters.
“What we are doing now is improving our IECs (Information Education Campaigns) on this new OSAEC law so that communities will be encouraged to report incidents,” she said.
Other than DSWD-10, Aca-ac said, NGOs, such as the Philippine Island Kid International, have been helpful to RACU-10 in providing temporary shelters for OSAEC victims.
Also, the Center for the Prevention and Treatment for Child Sexual Abuse (CPTCSA) has been helping survivors through “kinship care,” a care option for children who cannot live with parents to enable them to continue growing while protecting their well-being.
Zenaida Rosales, executive director of CPTCSA, said children who may not be able to complain, voice out their feelings, or avoid conversations about their experience of abuse are the most vulnerable and may be undergoing distress.
Council for the Welfare of Children Undersecretary Antonio Tapales said kinship care is provided under RA 11642 or the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Childcare Act. (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)
