Margie Markland

An emotional President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the Philippines must do more to strengthen its efforts against the sexual exploitation of children online.

Photo Courtesy of GMA Network/RMN Network.

In a speech at the National Summit against Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) in Makati City on September 16, Marcos lamented how prevalent OSAEC still is in the country.

“For us to allow this to happen in our country, it brings to me an overwhelming sense of shame because being in government, being in public service, we are not doing enough. We must do more,” a teary-eyed Marcos said.

“It is sexual abuse and exploitation of children. And I leave it to your imagination, and I would imagine in some cases your imagination cannot even begin to fathom what is done to these poor children—to our poor children,” he added.

The President said he became emotional while hearing the story of an OSAEC victim, “Charito,” her ordeal, and the suffering she went through.

He added that hearing the stories of other children who went through the same experience prompted him to call for more action from the government.

Charito, who preceded Marcos’ speech, spoke about how, in 2004, when she was 13, she was “trapped” and forced to work in a bar to entertain customers and perform strip dances.

She also told the story of her fellow survivor “Joy,” who was made to sit naked in front of cameras as online sex offenders paid to watch her.

“It pains me to know that her community knew about the exploitation, even the barangay officials, but no one from the community reported,” Charito said.

According to the International Justice Mission, traffickers abused 1 in 100 Filipino children to create new child sexual exploitation material in 2022 alone, a statistic the President called “appalling” and vowed to stop.

“They live within our midst and several may be the sons, daughters of those people we know. Their smiles… conceal a pain that is our nation’s shame, as the sad reality is that many perpetrators are the victims’ families or relatives, the very people that we expect to care for them,” said Marcos.

The country has been dubbed by the United Nations Children's Fund as the “global epicenter of the live-stream sexual abuse trade,” with 1 in 5 Filipino children being vulnerable to online sexual exploitation, some of which is facilitated even by their own parents.