Zambo steps up campaign vs. online child sexual exploitation
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 11 December) — The local government has intensified its campaign against online child sexual exploitation by equipping frontline responders with specialized training aimed at strengthening early detection, rapid intervention, and coordinated protection for vulnerable children.
From November 23 to 28, 2025, first responders convened in Zamboanga City for a training program aimed at enhancing their ability to investigate cases, carry out rescue operations, and encourage communities to report online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) incidents, according to a press statement from the International Justice Mission (IJM) Philippines.
This as IJM Philippines reported that since 2015, authorities in the Zamboanga Peninsula have apprehended at least 14 suspects tied to OSAEC.
“We remain steadfast in supporting investigations, improving reporting mechanisms, and enhancing our partnerships with national agencies, NGOs (non-government organizations), and barangay councils,” Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said in a statement read by Gen. Edwin de Ocampo (Ret.), the executive assistant, during the training’s opening ceremony at Grand Astoria Hotel.
The city government passed an anti-OSAEC ordinance in March this year, showing its commitment to create, fund and implement programs to prevent and eradicate OSAEC crimes, often tagged in communities as “show,” “cybersex,” “chat-chat,” among other names.
More than 40 frontliners, including law enforcers and social workers, took part in the Multi-Disciplinary Team Basic Internet Crimes Against Children (MDT-BICAC) training organized by IJM in partnership with the city government.
The sessions covered the Philippine legal framework, basic investigative techniques, operational planning, trauma-informed approaches for survivors, community awareness initiatives, and media engagement, among other key topics.
“OSAEC is complex, borderless, and often hidden,” Police Col. Mario Baquiran Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center–Mindanao Field Unit (PNP WCPC-MFU), said during the opening ceremony. “But through capacity-building efforts like this, we strengthen our ability to identify, investigate, and respond effectively to cases.”
OSAEC — particularly the trafficking of children for livestreamed sexual abuse — remains widespread in the Philippines. IJM’s Scale of Harm prevalence study estimated that nearly 500,000 Filipino children were victimized in 2022 alone.
Local traffickers, many of them parents or relatives, are known to livestream the abuse in exchange for payments from online offenders overseas. The study also underscored the extent of underreporting, noting that in some communities the crime has become disturbingly normalized.
Evelyn Pingul, IJM Philippines’ community engagement director, underscored the real harm suffered by OSAEC victims. “This is not just a ‘show’ or ‘online content’ — it’s real abuse with lifelong consequences. Each of us has a moral and civic responsibility to speak up and act when we see it happening in our communities,” she said.
IJM reports that more than 270 individuals have been convicted for OSAEC-related offenses since 2011, while over 1,600 victims and at-risk children have been rescued nationwide.
Since 2015, the PNP WCPC-MFU has conducted 18 operations across the Zamboanga Peninsula, rescuing 53 victims and arresting 14 suspected traffickers.
Several Philippine laws address offenses linked to OSAEC, including:
- Republic Act 11930, the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act
- Republic Act 7610, the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act
- Republic Act 9208, as amended by R.A. 10364 and R.A. 11862, collectively known as the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act
The MDT-BICAC training is designed to strengthen coordination between prosecutors, social workers, and law enforcement, seeking to prevent fractured investigations, uneven case management, and the costly duplication of efforts.
“The presence of every government leader, every officer and enforcer of the law, prosecutors and aftercare service providers here today sends a clear and unconditional message that Zamboanga is a city that protects its young and our collective effort and commitment to see it done is non-negotiable,” said Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court Branch 12 Presiding Judge Gregorio dela Pena III, who is also the lead convenor of the Zamboanga City Justice Zone.
IJM is working hand in hand with authorities to hold offenders accountable while ensuring survivors receive the protection and support they need. To bolster the justice system’s response to OSAEC and trafficking, IJM delivers specialized training for law enforcement, prosecutors, and social workers.
On September 16, 2024, IJM partnered with the Department of Justice–Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to convene the national summit “Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang OSAEC Ngayon.” The gathering also marked the launch of the “Bayang Walang Bahid ng OSAEC” campaign, which seeks to break the culture of silence and empower communities to report child exploitation.
For suspected OSAEC cases in the Zamboanga Peninsula, reports may be directed to the WCPC-MFU at 0917-180-6037. Nationwide assistance is available through the PNP-WCPC hotlines at 0966-725-5961 (Globe) and 0920-907-1717 (Smart). (Frencie L. Carreon / MindaNews)
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