10 cybersex dens under surveillance

CEBU, Philippines - The Cordova police are now monitoring at least ten possible cybersex dens in the town.

“Dunay surveillance karon nga mao na pero maoy problema sa pulis ang pagsulod sa balay,” said Senior Inspector Noli Sernio, chief of the Cordova Police Station. (We are conducting surveillance on them but our problem really is how to enter these houses.)

Sernio told The Freeman that even if they lack the equipment to trace the illegal activity, they can still use other available resources.

He admitted that the lack of police training in using high-tech equipment could hinder them in arresting parents who are using their children for pornography in the internet.

An informant from the town revealed that cybersex is still rampant in the barangays of Ibabao, San Miguel, and Dapitan.

However, Sernio said, residents in the area have been denying the reports. He said information campaign in every barangay and in all high schools are being conducted.

“We are hoping that through this information drive na-aware na ang mga tao,” Sernio said.

The Municipal Government of Cordova is now listing the names of those who have internet cafés and those who own a computer unit, for the monitoring purposes.

Sernio said that Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy will also be giving rewards to those who could give information that could help the town eradicate human trafficking.

The Freeman tried to reach Sitoy for his statement but he was attending an important matter out of the town.

Recently, a couple in Cordova were arrested using their children for cyber pornography. They entered a plea of “not guilty” for all the criminal charges filed against them during their arraignment before the Regional Trial Court in Lapu-Lapu City.

They are facing charges for qualified trafficking, child pornography and child abuse before the sala of RTC Branch 27 Judge Toribio Quiwag.

The children are now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and are set to be transferred to another facility.

The couple was arrested during a raid conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation. Rescued during the raid were their five children and their 16-year-old niece. The children were seen posing naked in front of a web camera. – THE FREEMAN