Mother arrested for pimping daughters online
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A 27-year-old mother caught selling her three daughters online has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for human trafficking, rape through sexual assault and cybercrime.
Lawyer Patricio Bernales, Jr., NBI-10 regional director, said they arrested “Joli” (not her real name) in San Luis, Gingoog City on Friday, April 12, for Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) after the NBI tracked the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the suspect.
He said the case stemmed from the referral from the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s office of cyber crime, who caught “Joli” in the “act of selling her children online.”
“The court issued a warrant to search, seize and examine computer data to secure the evidence against the mother,” Bernales said.
“This morning, we filed cases against Joli for violation of RA (Republic Act) 11862, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022 and RA 7610 for child abuse and rape by sexual assault,” Bernales said on Monday.
He said the three minors are now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Lawyer Kirk Matthew Pedro, executive officer of the NBI human trafficking division, said Joli’s case would be the second OSAEC case in Northern Mindanao this year after the first one in Lanao del Norte.
Pedro said they could often sniff an OSAEC case when there were foreigners looking for Filipina women through dating applications.
“The grooming starts at the dating app; then, they exchange numbers. They communicate through WhatsApp, then the foreigners would ask about children and offer money for the act,” Pedro said.
He added that the NBI had, so far, filed more than 600 OSAEC cases since 2019.
“In 2023 alone, we conducted 30 operations, arrested 15 individuals and rescued 92 children,” Pedro said.
