Hoteliers and business owners may face criminal charges if they allow their establishments to be used for child prostitution or child sex tourism, an organization advancing the welfare of children warned in a forum in Cebu City yesterday.
Lawyer Joan Saniel-Amit, executive director of the Children’s Legal Bureau, made this warning as she cited a provision of Republic Act 7610 or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act which states that “those who derive profit or advantage therefrom, whether as manager or owner of the establishment where the prostitution takes place, or of the sauna, disco, bar, resort, place of entertainment or establishment serving as a cover or which engages in prostitution,” can be held liable of child sex tourism and may face the penalty of reclusion temporal.
Also, a penalty of prison mayor, a fine not less than P50,000, and the loss of the license to operate such a place or establishment will also be imposed on a person “who allows any person to take along with him to such place or places any minor.”
The CLB yesterday hosted a forum for hotels and resorts owners and managers where they were oriented on the laws and regulations that are in place to protect children from exploitation.
Saniel-Amit said child sex tourism and trafficking in Cebu has become one of the most significant social issues that needs to be addressed in the province.
“One of the consequences (of being a tourist destination) is that there are foreigners or even local visitors who would exploit children,” Amit said.
She also added that the forum aims to partner with hotels and to come up with agreements or provisions on “how to protect children from such predators, not only the foreign sex tourists but the local sex tourist as well”.
Also discussed in the forum is how they would be able to identify if a child is being victimized by traffickers.
Under the law, “when any person not related to the child in found alone with the said child is any secluded area which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the child is about to be exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse” can be held liable for child prostitution.
Also, any person who has in his company a minor, 12 years under or who is 10 years or more his junior in any public place, could also be considered as someone who committed child abuse.
According to CLB, there are no Philippine laws addressing specifically the issue of child sex tourism. Because of this, children’s rights advocates have made use of the three major laws protecting children against abuses, trafficking and pornography. These are: the Anti-Child Abuse Law (RA 7610), Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208), and the Anti-Child Pornography Law (RA 9775).