THE crackdown on child cyberporn in Mactan yesterday was the first time young victims were pulled out of school for a “rescue operation.”
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza expressed alarm at the manner this was done, saying what should have been a discreet operation was “leaked” to the media and done wihout coordination with Lapu-Lapu City school officials.
She said the operation should not be done in school during class hours because of the possible negative effects on children.
Two students of Babag National High School in Lapu-Lapu City turned out to be cases of mistaken identity.
“We are against cybercrime. We support operations that need the coordination of the local government. But it’s a different thing when an operation is done in schools. We are careful when it comes to our children,” she said.
She said it could “traumatize the girls” who were taken out and the other students who witnessed their classmates being whisked away by the NBI assisted by SWAT policemen.
At the Babag National High School, two high school girls were called out of class in the morning and brought to the administration office of the school where they were interviewed by DSWD and NBI 7 representatives. The NBI later said they were not the ones on their list.
In a return visit at 4 pm., other students were again called to the office for interviews but no one was made to go with the authorities, said Jonji Gonzales, spokesman of Mayor Radaza.
The repeat visit was due to the fact that different sets of students attend high school classes in day shifts and night shifts.
Radaza said she was shocked that the supposedly discreet operation was “leaked to the media” when no students were verified to be victims of cybersex.
“Here in Lapu—Lapu we are always monitoring the KTV Bars, Internet Cafe and commissioned our Barangay Intelligence to report if there is any cyber pornography in their neighborhood.”
Dr. Eduardo Ompad, the Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd Lapu-Lapu city said, he was was taken by surprise by the operation. He said that no students in Babag National High School were verified to be victims of cyberporn contrary to initial reports.
He said students and their families are briefed about the harm done by cyberpornography and the penalties for engaging in this illegal activity.
He said the names of nine students in Babag National High School were in the NBI’s list but only two were called out by NBI personnel as they matched the names they were looking for.Later the two students were returned to their class as a case of mistaken identity.