Police monitor internet shops used in cyberporn

CEBU, Philippines - Operations of internet shops in Cordova town are being monitored by the police following reports that these are used as fronts in cyberpornography.

Cebu Provincial Police Office director Senior Superintendent Eric Noble said he has directed the police chief to intensify its monitoring.

Cordova Police Station chief Senior Inspector Clemente Ceralde Jr. said they have coordinated with the municipal government to help in the fight against cybersex.

Mayor Therese Sitoy-Cho has required all internet shops to close at 10 p.m.

“On this issue on cyberpornography, the mayor implemented a 10 p.m. curfew to all the internet cafes within Cordova,” Ceralde said.

The police also announced a modified Tokhang operation against cyberpornography in Cordova.

The program is being backed by Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, chairperson of the Cebu Provincial Commission on Women and Children. According to Noble, he directed the police chief of Cordova to send police operatives to internet shops to monitor their activities.

Noble said they are still planning the procedures on how to implement the modified Tokhang. Magpale intends to join during the operations.

According to Noble, they now have more time to focus on the fight against cyberpornography after they were relieved from the campaign against illegal drugs.

Noble said they have turned over all the data gathered in the war against drugs to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas.

Noble took pride in their achievements in the campaign against drugs, saying they have recorded 51,000 surrenderers and over 3,000 arrests in Cebu Province during the last two quarters of 2016.

The police also recorded about 200 people killed in the anti-illegal drug operations.

Noble said they were already at its peak in the campaign when the PNP leadership suspended all anti-drug operations. He said people have already been giving voluntary information to them. — Dale G. Isarel and Christell Fatima M. Tudtud (FREEMAN)