The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice’s Office of Cybercrime (OOC) will strengthen their crackdown on online human trafficking, amid reports of “Christmas sale” of students’ sensual photos and videos online.
“The DOJ, through its Office of Cybercrime, and the NBI’s Cybercrime Division, will intensify its efforts to crack down on cybercrimes and all forms of human trafficking through the internet, which are expected to rise during these times of limited physical movement and interaction,” DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
According to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate’s basic education committee, there were reports of students holding a Christmas sale of sensual photos and videos.
Gatchalian asked the DOJ-OOC and the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group to immediately probe the reports of Philippine Online Student Tambayan (POST), a news portal on the student sector, that some students use #AlterPH, #AlterPinay, and #AlterPhilippines on Twitter to sell their lewd photos and videos online.
The senator said the students offer a Christmas bundle (sensual photos and videos that sometimes show the face of the sellers) for as low as P150. The students reportedly used the money to buy gadgets and pay for the internet for their online learning.
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NBI probes online ‘Christmas sale’ of students’ sensual pics
“It is alarming that the pandemic is causing other problems that our students are facing abuse and danger of being victims of abuse and violence. Unscrupulous people can take advantage of our students, and the government must stop this,” he said in a statement.
Gatchalian also urged the Department of Education to strengthen its child protection program, emphasizing that “Child Protection Committees (CPCs)” in schools are required to identify students who could be experiencing abuse and exploitation.
The senator also filed Senate Bill 1794 that “seeks to allow regional courts, in cases involving child trafficking, to authorize law enforcers to conduct surveillance and record communications and information involving persons charged with or suspected of trafficking.”
It would also require internet service providers to “install available technology, program or software to block and filter any access to any form of child pornography.”
“We welcome the possible enactment of a new law that would strengthen the legal framework for the government’s campaign against human trafficking in cyberspace, particularly online sexual exploitation of children and minors,” Guevarra responded.