President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of a centralized system to detect and report online sexual abuse of children.
During a sectoral meeting on Tuesday, the President discussed an action plan to combat online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse materials (CSAEM).
Interior Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. said Marcos called for a whole-of-government approach to eradicate online child sexual abuse.
“So what we talked about yesterday is what we’re gonna do, it’s gonna be capacitated. In fact, we will also include it as part of the seal of good local governance. We will put parameters for all barangays and local government units in the entire Philippines,” he said.
Abalos highlighted Marcos’s commitment, calling online child sexual abuse the “worst of all crimes.”
He also noted that barangay ordinances against OSAEC and CSAEM will be implemented and replicated at municipal and city levels.
Marcos directed the Philippine National Police and other agencies to aggressively pursue and prosecute those involved in the creation and distribution of child sexual abuse materials.