Marcos vows more action to stop abuse of children

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday reiterated his administration's commitment to end the online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (Osaec) in the country. Speaking at the "Iisang Nasyon, Iisang Aksyon: Tapusin ang Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (Osaec) Ngayon" Summit in Makati City, Marcos turned emotional as he witnessed former victims of cybersex crimes relive their hellish experiences. "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," the chief executive 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," he added. Latest data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showed that 1,099 victims were rescued from 237 operations, 138 suspects were arrested, 139 cases were filed, and 41 perpetrators were convicted. "It is an appalling statistic. We cannot allow this to continue. We will not allow it to continue. This is a horrible scourge of online sexual abuse or exploitation of children, which remains widespread now in our country," the President said. "A sad reality is that many perpetrators are the victims' families or relatives—the very people that we expect to care for them," he added.