DOJ, police urge public to report social media pages that sexually exploit children

By CNN Philippines Staff, 23 May 2020

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) — Reports of online sexual exploitation of children have increased during the lockdown, and the Justice Department, together with law enforcement agencies, are urging the public to report these online pages.

Reports of Facebook pages namely “Mahilig sa Bata,” “Batang Masarap Spotted,” and “Samahan ng mga Mahihilig sa Bata,” have recently come to the attention of authorities.

In line with this, the Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC), the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD), and the Philippine National Police Women and

Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC), have issued a joint advisory to warn those who violate R.A. No. 9775.

The advisory reiterates that “the possession of and access to, and possession with the intent to sell, distribute, publish, or broadcast, any form of child pornography” are among the prohibited punishable acts under Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 (R.A. No. 977), or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (R.A. No. 10175).

Those who will be proven guilty of said offences shall suffer imprisonment ranging from four to 17 years, and a fine of ₱200,000 to ₱1 million.

Initial investigation revealed that the administrators and members of the said Facebook pages regularly change the name of the pages and strictly keep it private.