TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK PLDT Inc. and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) on Thursday reported blocking over 1.6 million uniform resource locators (URLs) and online content linked to online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC) since June 2021.
“We are keen to explore further areas of collaboration with UNICEF to foster industry-wide awareness on child rights and actively manage the impact of digital technology on children,” PLDT and Smart First Vice-President and Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa V. Vergel de Dios said in a statement.
“As well as support our government in the continuing fight against OSAEC,” Ms. Vergel de Dios added.
The latest SaferKidsPH research reported that Filipino youth have a similar internet usage pattern. As early as five years old and as late as fifteen years old, children already have access to the internet, which makes them vulnerable to OSAEC.
As defined by the Republic Act 11930 or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act of 2022, OSAEC is the use of information and communication technology to abuse and exploit children sexually.
According to the Situation of Children in the Philippines report, OSAEC is one of the most prevalent protection issues in the country and has become a ‘profitable industry’ that is “extremely difficult” to address.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. last September said one in every 100 Filipinos, or half a million children, have been victimized by OSAEC.
“It is the horrible scourge of Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children or OSAEC, which remains widespread now in our country,” he said during the Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang OSAEC Ngayon Summit 2024.
To help combat the growing issue, the PLDT and SMART have partnered with different sectors and groups to implement “awareness-raising campaigns” on child rights, online protection, and the risk of OSAEC among its employees, customers, and stakeholder communities.
In addition, the companies have mobilized resources to support the SaferKidsPH consortium of UNICEF, Save the Children, the Asia Foundation, and the Australian Government on community-based interventions to strengthen child protection systems against OSAEC in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, Quezon City, and Angeles, Pampanga.
It also addresses child labor problems by upholding a minimum employment age in human resources practices and integrating child safeguarding considerations into their marketing sponsorships and supply chain management processes. — Almira Louise S. Martinez
