Davide OK with shame campaign but talks about human rights

Gov. Hilario Davide III

As long as it  does not violate human rights, a proposed  “shame campaign” against alleged perpetrators of cybersex in Cordova town  has the  support of Gov. Hilario Davide III.

“That’s  a good suggestion,” he said of the proposal of Provincial Board Member Arleigh Sitoy, former  Cordova mayor, to put signages on  houses of suspected cyberporn operators labeling each of them “cyberporn-prone house.”

“The family would really feel embarrassed if people find out about their activities. Personally for me it’s a good idea,” Davide  told reporters. “Although we also have to check if there is no violation of  the basic constitutional rights of the person,” said Davide, a lawyer. “It must be balanced,” he said.

Sitoy  did not specify how the target houses would be selected and who would identify them.

He said he plans to ostracize suspected individuals especially those who continue to expose themselves and their children to online pornography for a fee.

Cordova in southernMactan island has  caught the attention of local and foreign law enforcers after several high-profile raids of home-based cyberporn operators although the  activity has been  observed in other cities where Internet use and web cameras proliferate. In the past two years, more than 20 minors and nine adults were arrested in Cebu province due to human trafficking and cybersex, most of them coming from Cordova.

Alfredo Lim model

In the  1990s,  Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim  spray-painted houses of suspected drug pushers in a similar shame campaign.

The practice was declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals which said this violated due process, the presumption of innocence and  the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

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Sitoy threatens to plaster suspected cyberporn houses in Cordova with shame signs