2 rescued from online child trafficking

Photo from the Philippine National Police

MANILA, Philippines – Two minors were rescued in Caloocan City for alleged online sexual abuse and exploitation perpetrated by their parents, neighbors and guardians, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.

In a statement, PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the victims – a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old – were rescued in a mission led by the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) on Wednesday.

The rescue operation came after the WCPC received information from the Antipolo City Social Welfare and Development Office in Rizal, saying that the alleged perpetrators sold video recordings and online live streams of the victims to their foreign clients.

“The goal is to protect the vulnerable sectors of the society is a holistic approach involving the community,” Azurin said. “From preventing them from being exposed to abuses to responding to complaints regarding human rights violations, the PNP calls on the cooperation of everyone to make these anti-criminality efforts sustainable.”

In a 2021 Global Threat Assessment report by WeProtect Global Alliance, the Philippines — tagged by the United Nations Children’s Fund in 2016 as “the global center of live-stream sexual abuse trade” — recorded a 265-percent increase in online child sexual abuse from March to May 2020.

READ: Pandemic worsens online child sexual abuse in PH, says global report 

But with the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children bill lapsing into law, more social media platforms will now be urged to augment the government’s crackdown on online sexual predation.

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JPV/abc