Human trafficking charges to be filed today vs young mother

THE Anti-Cybercrime Group in Central Visayas (ACG-7) will formally lodge today a human trafficking complaint against the 22-year-old mother who allegedly used her own children and three other minors in the cyberpornography trade that she operated from her home in Cordova town.

Chief Insp. Leo Dofiles, ACG-7 chief, said they will file the case at the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office this morning, and this should serve a
warning to other human traffickers.

“They should remember that this case is non-bailable and (can result to) a lifetime imprisonment (if found guilty). We will not stop in going after them,” Dofiles said in an interview with Cebu Daily News.

Dofiles said a case of violations of Republic Act 9208, or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and Republic Act 9775, or the Anti-Child Pornography Act in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act, will be filed against the 22-year-old woman.

Agents from the ACG-7 along with those from the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) and the International Justice Mission (IJM) arrested the young mother last Saturday, June 23.

Miriam, not her real name, is now held at the Cordova Police Station for allegedly exposing children to cyberpornography in Barangay Poblacion of Cordova town on Mactan Island, particularly for asking children to do live sex shows that she would stream online, for a fee of P3,000 per show that she collected from online predators.

Three girls — two of whom were both 12 years old and the other 15 years old — were rescued during the entrapment operation. Also taken into custody were the woman’s two young children.

This is the second operation of ACG-7 in a span of nine days.

Last June 14, ACG-7 agents also arrested a 31-year-old woman in an entrapment operation in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City.

Eight minors aged 3 to 17 were rescued from the hands of the former call center agent, who allegedly took lewd videos of the victims and sold them online.

Dofiles said that in the past year, they have been intensifying their campaign against human trafficking, cyberpornography in particular.

With the help of other government and non-government agencies like the Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC) and IJM, there have been successful rescue operations and arrest of traffickers in Cebu, said Dofiles.

However, Dofiles admitted that going after human traffickers has not been easy.

“Because of the technology, going after them is becoming difficult. But we have the proper support of the community and the other agencies,” Dofiles said.

Sad reality

Lawyer Noemi Truya-Abarientos, litigation and advocacy coordinator of the Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB), was saddened about the recent arrest of a 22-year-old woman who sexually exploited minors.

“It’s a sad reality, despite all efforts of educating the community that cyberpornography is illegal and could land them in jail,” she lamented, adding that the likelihood of the offenders landing in jail did not deter them from committing the crime.

“I’m sure they know it is wrong — morally, legally, but they just won’t keep away from it. Ingon ana na lang gyud kagutom nga wala na lang gyud moral fiber ang mga tao nga mobuhat ani (Are they starving for them to choose to abandon their moral fiber)?” Abarientos added.

Abarientos said that the challenge now is how the national government put an end to cyberpornography, particularly with more parents now exploiting their own children in the online flesh trade.

“I’m always of the position that the problem is beyond Philippine National Police (PNP) or the local government unit (LGU) of Cordova. I’m sure they are doing the best way they know how,” Abarientos said.

She added that the current administration should be concerned with the long-term effect of sexual exploitation on children.

“We may have tourists who will come to our country thinking our children are as accessible for sex as they are for sex shows in the net,” she said. /WITH CORRESPONDENT JESSA MAE O. SOTTO