EDITORIAL - More teeth vs child porn

A day after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a provision against online libel, some lawmakers said they would work to delete this from the Cybercrime Prevention Act. In the meantime, the SC ruling should pave the way for the implementation of the law, which gives more teeth to the campaign against crime rings exploiting children for online pornography.

Recent reports said the Philippines has become one of the top 10 countries where online pornography involving boys and girls mostly aged 10 to 14 is rampant. Philippine National Police officials said since 2012, cyber crime dens have mushroomed around the country, particularly in Luzon and Cebu. Child welfare groups have raised concern that economic hardships in the areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda and a powerful earthquake last year could worsen the trafficking of children for cyber sex.

Last Monday night, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation apprehended 30 people in raids on a Christian school in Muntinlupa and two buildings in Quezon City on suspicion that they housed sex chat hubs featuring children. The NBI said among those arrested were men who pretended to be women as they chatted with clients seeking pornographic materials on the Internet. The school owner and operators of the chat rooms denied child porn activities.

The Internet has been a boon to purveyors of porn. The cyber sex trade has also gained popularity among the poor as a source of what they consider to be easy money. Figures mentioned by law enforcement agencies show that the earnings from stripping in front of a computer camera can be irresistible to the impoverished.

Those tasked to go after online child sex trafficking have complained that their campaign was hampered by the restraining order issued by the Supreme Court on the implementation of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. The law requires cooperation from private telecommunications companies in the campaign against cyber porn.

Child welfare advocates, on the other hand, point out that the battle can be waged by applying RA 7610 or the Act for the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation or Discrimination. The two laws complement each other. Now that SC has lifted its restraining order on the cybercrime law, the nation expects a stronger campaign against the sexual exploitation of children.