PNP pushes for law vs cybersex

PALAYAN CITY — With no laws against the sexual exploitation of women and children over the Internet, the Philippine National Police (PNP) faces an uphill battle in its fight against cybersex syndicates in the country, officials said yesterday.

"We need tougher laws to punish cybersex operators," PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said in a speech here Thursday, where he led groundbreaking rites for the construction of a P14-million provincial police headquarters on a two-hectare site in Barangay Singalat, in front of Nueva Ecija’s provincial capitol.

He said the Senate and the House of Representatives should fast-track the passage of laws to give more teeth to the government’s campaign against cybersex operators.

Lomibao said cybersex has not yet reached alarming proportions although he hinted that the situation could take a turn for the worse if new laws are not crafted to curb the activities of cybersex syndicates.

Lomibao’s call for tougher laws against cybersex came on the heels of a successful raid on a cybersex den in Cabanatuan City by provincial police and the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, which led to the arrest of four women and the seizure of sex gadgets.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Lomibao said around 20 police provincial commands in various parts of the country do not own the land where their buildings are located, while 500 police stations are practically squatters in their own cities and municipalities.

This city’s new police headquarters, which will also house a sports complex, a housing project and parade grounds, will replace the existing office of the provincial police in Cabanatuan City.

Lomibao also led the ground-breaking for the construction of police stations in this city, the Science City of Muñoz, and in the towns of Nampicuan and Lupao.

Chief Superintendent Servando Hizon, who heads the PNP directorate for logistics, said the PNP plans to construct 1,500 police stations in 15 years, or an average of 100 year, as part of the efforts to create a strong police force. He said the PNP would spend P200 million a year for the project.