Senator Grace Poe has asked local government officials to monitor suspected syndicates in areas identified as hotbeds of “webcam child sex” by a Netherlands-based international organization.
Poe said a study conducted by development group Terre des Hommes named Angeles City in Pampanga, Taguig City in Metro Manila, and Cordova, Dalaguete and Cebu City in the province of Cebu as the five areas in the Philippines where syndicates offering webcam child sex tourism operate.
“Filipino children seem to have an extraordinary appeal to both casual and hardcore pedophiles offering financial rewards to children forced to perform sexually in front of the camera,” the group said.
Poe said national and local government agencies must work together to stop webcam child sex from spreading to other areas where poverty may drive people to exploit their children for money.
“With child exploitation taking on forms that are harder to trace, the involvement of local leaders, family members and even neighbors in reporting suspicious activities in the home is crucial to protecting our children from online pedophiles,” Poe said.
An estimated 750,000 men worldwide reportedly seek online sex with children daily in more than 40,000 public chat rooms.
Terre des Hommes also disclosed that 40 percent of children in webcam sex tourism have family members who are either involved in cybersex operations or are aware of the child’s involvement in such activities.
On Dec. 5, the National Bureau of Investigation rescued five minors from a home in Cordova, Cebu which was being used as a cybersex den by the children’s relatives. The operators used mobile phones instead of computers in their transactions to avoid detection.
In June, police raided a house in Taguig where girls aged 13-17 were being “sold” online by their own parents. A similar raid was conducted in the same city in October, when four girls aged 12 and below were rescued.
“It is very alarming how child exploitation has penetrated the homes of poor Filipino families. We have to stop it before it becomes an entire industry that preys on vulnerable young people,” Poe said.
Webcam child sex is considered a criminal act and a violation of several Philippine laws, including the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Anti-Child Pornography Law.
In 2013, Terre des Hommes introduced virtual child Sweetie, a fictional 10-year-old Filipino girl, which it used to track and apprehend pedophiles around the world.
Through Sweetie, Terre des Hommes was able to identify over 1,000 adults from 65 countries who were willing to pay minors for sexual acts in front of a webcam and turned over the identities and locations to Interpol.
