Who’ll take the kids? NBI charges parents

What happens to the six children rescued from their home-based cybersex porn operation in Cordova town?

Social workers are trying to find a relative to take custody of them while their parents are in jail.

Five siblings and a young cousin who were intercepted by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation can’t go back to their elders, said Jaybee Binghay, Department of Social Welfare in Central Visayas (DILG-7) spokesperson.

“We won’t separate them because they need each other for support,” Binghay assured.

The minors, aged 4 to 15, underwent a medical checkup and a psychological evaluation by a doctor and government child welfare specialist.
At present, they are under the care of the DSWD.

Binghay said the children were unaware they were victims of pornography and parental abuse.

“They have no sense of malice about what’s going on,” Binghay told Cebu Daily News.

The parents were charged yesterday by the NBI 7 with “qualified trafficking in persons” before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

They pleaded not guilty, changing their earlier verbal admissions after their arrest by the NBI and denying that they exposed their children to cyber pornography.

“We didn’t harm our children. We care for them very much. We are considering their future. We want to give them dignity,” the 33-year-old mother told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.

She said she was “confused” about her comments immediately after the arrest.

The NBI filed charges of violation of the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Anti-Child Abuse Law; and Anti-Child Pornography Law.

The evidence submitted by the NBI-7 included video footage of their raid last Wednesday and the affidavit of one of the children.

The sworn affidavits of the other victims may be submitted today.

The video showed the children were naked and about to perform a lewd show, said an NBI-7 agent who requested anonymity.

The father and mother had no lawyer assisting them during the closed-door inquest proceedings.

The woman was heard sobbing hard during the half-hour proceedings while her 44-year-old husband remained silent.

The couple was later brought back to the NBI-7 stockade.

Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Nelia Sistoso said she would decide soon whether the evidence is strong enough to elevate the case to court.

At the NBI stockade, the mother told CDN she wanted her children released to the custody of their grandmother.

She said she and her husband couldn’t sleep for worrying about their children’s situation.

“I hope people will give us a chance. Forgive us. It would be all right if we will eventually become scavengers as long as our family stays together,” the woman said in Cebuano.

When the NBI-7 barged into their two-story house last Wednesday morning, the six children were in a room naked.

The mother said the children just finished taking their bath and were about to dress.

When asked about the video footage of her children who were seen performing lewd scenes, the mother declined to comment.

She said it was common in their place to engage in cyber pornography and that she herself performed “sexy shows,” but insisted she did it alone and never involved her children.

Her husband also broke his silence and denied the allegations against them.

The man told Cebu Daily News he knew his wife is engaged in cyber pornography and that it was “evil” but said they were poor and wanted to take care of their children.