What is Cordova town doing about cybersex operators?
Barangay captain Andres Dinoy of Cogon said he’s been asking families to register their Internet connections and computers with the barangay office.
This way, it would be easier to locate parties misusing the Internet for pornography when a complaint is raised.
So far 50 users have signed up, he said, but he can’t force residents since the gadgets are in private property.
Out of Cordova’s 13 barangays, he said Cogon is next to barangay Ibabao in having the most number of Internet connections and computer owners.
For a poor community whose livelihood is largely fishing, several residents have found a way to earn “easy money” through online pornography, a trend noticed there since 2006.
Ibabao was where agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided a house last June 1 and arrested a father and mother who were directing their five minor children and a niece in posing naked in front of a web camera connected to the Internet.
The racket had been going on for three years.
Last July 12, provincial police agents served a search warrant on a house in barangay Cogon and rescued three girls aged 9, 12 and 17 doing the same lewd routine for an online porn service.
Three women who were allegedly “coaching” the children were arrested by operatives of the Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (PIIB) of the Cebu police, reinforced by the Children’s Legal Bureau of Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Since the violations involve nonbailable crimes of qualified human trafficking, in both cases, family members are separated with the grown-ups detained in jail and the children placed in the care of social workers.
Dinoy said he’s toying with the idea of requiring the registration of home-based Internet and computers in a barangay resolution as a deterrent.
In an earlier interview, Dinoy said cybersex operators would move from one house to another, seeking remote and secluded houses, to avoid detection.
After last week’s raid in Cogon, operators are “lying low,” said Dinoy. He said five other targets in his village are being watched.
Local classes are well attended with no complaints of unexplained absences of young students. He said this was a sign that suspected porn operators were not active for now.
The raids were effective, he said. People are more aware now about reporting unusual happenings in the area. Monitoring continues.
He said the five other operators had been identified years back but authorities had a difficult time making an arrest because the online porn activities were taking place in private homes and not Internet shops.
“Nakapaalarma nila unya nakatabang jud to nga mu- lie low sila,” he explained.
Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing of the 6th district told reporters he would ask the House to investigate the effects of child exploitation and what can be done.
He said poverty is not an excuse to ruin one’s life and future through cyberpornography.
Yesterday morning, barangay officials had a free workshop on values formation given by the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) with their guest speaker Lea Morado.
PMAP president Chito Recamadas told CDN that after the publicized cybersex raids, they offered to help Cordova as part of the corporate social responsibility.
It’s the job of barangay officials to echo later what they take up.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo Jumao-as, Councilor Angel Gairanod together with barangay Ibabao captain Chito Bentazal, barangay Day-as captain Rosemarie Suan, barangay Gilutungan captain Melchor Ompad, captain Dinoy and other representatives from other barangays attended the workshop.
Vice Mayor Jumao-as said town officials have been visiting barangays every Saturday to attend Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) meetings to tell residents to be vigilant about the dangers of cybersex exploitation.
The problem won’t be solved overnight. Monitoring continues, he said.
The positive impact, said Jumao-as, is that, “Kita sa Cordova, kita ra maka-prosecute ug mahimo rani balaod nga malig-on pagsumpo sa cybersex, dili lang dinhi kundi sa tibuok Pilipinas ug malig-on atong baload batok ani.”
During the PTA meetings, they tell residents about an executive order of Mayor Adelino Sitoy to establish a holding center for minors in the remote islet barangay of Gilutungan.
By setting up this detention site, he said they want to show parents that officials are serious about implementing ordinances that protect minors and crack down on juvenile delinquents.
Cordova is also finalizing an ordinance that will prohibit minors from using “piso-piso” automated computer machines and Internet cafes during school hours between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
An existing curfew for minors means children have to be off the streets by 11 p.m.