In Davao, influential men seen in child porn trade

DAVAO CITY—Influential persons are behind a syndicate using children here to sell pornographic materials mainly through the Internet and this was the reason the illegal operation persists, a nongovernment organization (NGO) working for children’s welfare said.

Bernardo Mondragon, of the NGO Alert Davao, said the information came from three victims, who were recently rescued.

Mondragon would not identify who the influential persons were but said some of them are “people in authority.”

Based on the accounts of the victims, Mondragon said the sex syndicate would recruit children—preferably males aged 16 to 17—and use them in making pornographic films.

The filming is done in small houses along the Davao Gulf with the use of cameras, laptops and spotlights.

The rescued victims, he said, gave the exact location of the shanties where the pornographic films are being produced.

He said sometime in June this year, police raided a house in Sasa here, seized pornographic materials and arrested several suspects.

In August, police also raided an alleged cybersex den in Davao City and arrested alleged owners Mary Jane Bacani and Ivory Abregana.

Senior Supt. Pedro Cabatingan, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Davao, said some expatriates were helping in the operation of the cybersex den and the operation in general of the smut industry.

The pornographic films produced here using children were being sold in the United Kingdom and the United States, Mondragon said.

He said the victims had begged off from filing cases against those behind the illegal activity “for fear of their lives considering that some influential persons are behind the illegal trade.”

Mondragon said the reason children were lured into the illegal trade was the promise of large sums—up to P12,000 for 15 days.

Jeanette Ampog, executive director of Talikala, also an NGO working with children, said her group wasn’t laying all the blame on government since efforts were being made to protect children.

“But there is a need to strengthen the government’s programs,” she said. Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao