House panel OKs substitute bill banning all forms of exploitation vs. children

A House of Representatives panel on Monday approved a substitute bill prohibiting all forms of sexual abuse and exploitation against children.

During a virtual meeting, the unnumbered substitute bill for House Bills 6923, 7465, 7633, 7718, 7825, 7947 and 8760 got the nod of the panel.

Representative Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, one of the authors, noted that this is a priority measure of the Duterte administration.

"It aims to deter the commission of online sexual abuse or exploitation of Filipino children which has now become rampant. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic that we are now experiencing is another silent pandemic, online sexual abuse or exploitation of children or OSAEC," Montalla said.

She said the restrictions to physical mobility in this time of health crisis opened the floodgates for the general public's use of the internet.

According to the lawmaker, online predators took advantage of the situation and that there has been a notable increase in OSAEC incidents as 202,604 more incidents, or 264.6%, were reported during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine.

The bill punishes the commission of, through online or offline means or a combination of both, child sexual abuse or exploitation. It treats OSAEC as "transnational crime that allows the extradition of predators and perpetrators committing the crime outside the Philippine jurisdiction, among others."

Among the unlawful acts under the measure include hiring, employing, using, persuading, inducing, extorting, or coercing a child to perform in the creation or production of any form of sexual abuse or exploitation material.

To sexualize children by presenting them as objects of sexual fantasy, or making them conversational subjects of sexual fantasies, in any online or digital  platform, is also considered unlawful under this measure.

Montalla said the bill, once enacted into law, will have minimal or no additional cost to the government as it will only transfer all the powers, functions and existing assets of the Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Child Pornography (IACACP) under Republic Act 9775 into the newly-created Inter-Agency Council on Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation (IACACSAE).

"Considering the relevance and prevalence of the crime committed under this bill, we propose to create a permanent position of executive director who will manage the day-to-day affairs of the Inter-Agency Council. As there is a budget allotted under R.A. No. 9775 for the IACACP, we propose to transfer it to the newly-created Inter-Agency Council," Montalla said.—AOL, GMA News