BACOLOD City – Four children were rescued from online sexual abuse and exploitation in Barangay Taculing here.
The children’s parents were arrested in an entrapment and raid planned by the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) around 6:20 p.m. on Friday, July 14.
The rescued children were two boys and two girls, according to Colonel Noel Aliño, BCPO director.
Three mobile phones, a pocket wifi, an unserviceable laptop, passport ID, assorted receipts, and identification cards were recovered during the entrapment and raid.
Police Captain Christine Cerbo, officer-in-charge of the city’s WCPD, said the children were used by their parents for cybersex for a fee from online clients.
The four children were moved to Balay Silongan, a halfway house for abused children.
The parents, on the other hand, were detained at the BCPO Police Station 6. They face charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act), RA 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act) and RA 9975 (Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009).
For the operation, the WCPD sought the assistance of the Women and Children Protection Center-Visayas Field Unit, BCPO Police Station 6 and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region 6.
The search warrant was issued by Judge Fernanda Castro, presiding judge of the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court – Branch 61.
According to non-government organization Save the Children Philippines, cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the Philippines increased by 264.6 percent or 202,605 more reports during the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine from March to May 2020, compared to the 76,561 cases during the same period in 2019, citing data from the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. (Watchmen Daily Journal)
