TO DATE, the Regional Prosecution Office in Davao Region (RPO-Davao) has record a total of four cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in the region.
Lawyer Barbara Flores, deputy regional prosecutor of RPO-Davao, told VoxPop Davao that the first of the four cases was filed in 2014. The case came from Davao City.
The case involved seven children from the age of two to 16 years old. The children were exploited by their own mother and two other family members.
According to Flores, the seven victims were related to each other- either as cousins or siblings.
"(The accused) nag plead guilty na ito (The accused have plead gguilty) to child trafficking, child abuse," Flores said.
Unfortunately, most of the OSAEC cases in the region are in a family setting. This means the perpetrators are usually related to the victims like their direct guardians or family relatives.
As of now, only one of the four cases remains active. Flores added that the other two cases involved the exploitation of children around five to seven years old with their own mothers being the perpetrators.
The latest OSAEC case in the region was filed in 2019 involving a mother and son.
Flores said family-based OSAEC cases are not uncommon. Of the cases filed in courts nationwide, 83 percent are incidents within families.
"Per observation, sometimes the perpetrators sila and nag e-engage (are the ones who first engaged) into cyber sex for a fee, then later on, yung customer, maghahanap ng younger so syempre sino ba sa kanila yung madali i-control, (the customer asks for a younger subject so they choose persons who are easier to control), who are the children immediately within their reach," Flores said.
The manner of exploitation involves a facilitator, seller, and a minor victim. The seller distributes child sexual exploitation materials of the minor, usually via livestream video, recorded video, and photos. They then sell it to a foreign customer and payment is through money remittance.
Flores said the usual platforms used are social media and messaging apps like Facebook, Skype, and Viber.
"Hindi kailangan sobrang (it doesn't have to be a) sophisticated (tool), mga surface web lang rin talaga (they usually just use surface web)," she said.
Most of the cases are faced with TIP charges, or child abuse and child pronorgraphy charges since the country has no direct law yet criminalizing OSAEC.
Once victims are rescued from their perpetrators, they are transferred into a shelter especially if the perpetrators are their guardians. Psychosocial interventions are also provided to address the trauma, as well as skills and training workshops, and educational assistance.
