‘My parents learned porn from neighbor’

The married couple who was arrested for allegedly using their children for cyber pornography in barangay Ibabao, Cordova town, learned about the trade from a neighbor.

So said their eldest son who executed a sworn affidavit to the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) against them yesterday.
The 15-year-old boy was assisted by a psychologist and a social worker in executing the affidavit.

“It is already quite known in the community that other families area also doing these webcam shows from my conversation with my friends and neighbors. In fact, one of my neighbors taught my parents to do these webcam shows to earn money,” he said.

The boy, along with four underage siblings and a female cousin, are now under the custody of the Provincial Women’s Commission.

The boy said he saw his parents order his younger sisters to perform lewd acts against their will.

Based on an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), the couple maintained two Yahoo e-mail accounts to lure online clients.

The man and his spouse, who is six months pregnant, are detained at the NBI-7 stockade.

The eldest son recounted how he first witnessed a “webcam” show involving his sisters two years ago.

He said he entered his parents’ room to get a T-shirt and saw his three sisters stripping down in front of a web camera.

“My mother was chatting over the Internet with some foreigners who were viewing them,” said the affidavit obtained by Cebu Daily News.

The boy was at home when NBI agents arrested his parents last Wednesday and rescued the children.

He said his mother and his three siblings and a female cousin were chatting with foreigners over the Internet.

The other children were nude and performed lewd actions in front of the web camera for a fee.

“This is not the first time that my mother and my father told my sisters and even my (13-year-old) brother to strip nude and perform lewd actions in front of foreigners,” he said.

After watching this, the boy said he no longer questioned his parents because he saw them buy groceries and other needs of the house, and understood that was how they earned money even though they were jobless.

He said his parents started to engage in cyber pornography two years ago.

He said his sisters would be told to perform lewd shows in front of the web camera “almost thrice a week.”

“I talked to my sisters, pitied them and urged them to stop but they told me that although they did not like to do these shows, they were forced to do it by my parents since this is the only way for them to earn money.”

So far, only the eldest son issued an affidavit against his parents who face charges of violating Republic Act 9775 or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 and qualified trafficking.

They were also accused of violating Republic Act 7610 or the Anti-Child Abuse Law.

The charges will be elevated before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Lapu-Lapu City on Monday.