MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Magandang umaga, Malacañang Press Corps, and welcome sa ating press briefing ngayong araw, April 25.

At yesterday’s sectoral meeting, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. condemned in the strongest of terms the crimes of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) in the Philippines.

President Marcos ordered the DILG, PNP, NBI, DOJ, DSWD and other agencies and the National Coordinating Center to intensify the fight against OSAEC and CSAEM. In 2016, the Philippines emerged as the center of child sex abuse materials production in the world based on the study done by UNICEF. In 2022, Disrupting Harm study conducted by UNICEF, ECPAT International and Interpol shows that 20% of internet-using Filipino children age 12 to 17, or 2 million children were victimized by OSAEC.

Additionally, 23 to 38% of the children who are victims do not tell anyone about the harm being done to them. OSAEC is an egregious form of violence against children. It is a borderless and hidden crime. It happens mostly in the home and is likely facilitated by trusted guardians and sometimes parents. There are many drivers of this crime including poverty, easy and unsupervised access to the internet, and online payment portals, and prevailing social norms such as “no touch, no harm” or “it’s just a webcam” and English being widely spoken.

President Marcos ordered the DILG and PNP to intensify the monitoring of cases locally and abroad, and have increased presence in communities. He ordered the DOJ and the PNP to come down on perpetrators with the full weight of the law, and directed the DSWD and other agencies to streamline and improve the process of investigation to make sure the children are protected and families are properly reintegrated.

He also ordered the further collaboration with private sector and internet service providers on a local and global scale, and an awareness campaign in schools and communities.

And to give us a detailed breakdown of the ongoing initiatives to fight OSAEC and CSAEM, we are joined by DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano IV; and officer-in-charge of the NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM, Atty. Margarita Magsaysay; and the PNP Chief of Women and Children Protection Center, PBGen. Portia Manalad. Good morning, ladies and gentleman. It’s a quite a heavy topic. Let’s proceed. Go ahead, Atty. Magsaysay.

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: So as mentioned by Ms. Daphne, we informed the President of the ongoing initiatives that our government agencies are doing to combat OSAEC and CSAEM.

So, there are a lot of angles to fight this crime. We are focusing on four key result areas in order to combat this. So there is the prevention and advocacy, we have programs for that in order to raise awareness about the gravity of the crime.

We also have prosecution and law enforcement. We, of course, have our law enforcement agencies helping out with the investigation of these crimes as well as our prosecutors to prosecute these crimes.

We also have our key result area on protection and reintegration, making sure that children have access to the mandatory services provided for them under the law such as the emergency shelter, psychosocial services for them to be able to be reintegrated back to the society.

And, of course, we have another key result area which is partnership and networking, making sure that we are engaging civil society organizations, as well as other NGOs in order to help us combat this.

So the President noted that we are doing a lot of initiatives but he wants us to consolidate our efforts and focus more on each agency’s expertise. So he was saying in so far as the DOJ is concerned, “Focus all your efforts into the prosecution. So sa law enforcement, sa mga law enforcement agencies, really, you know, crack down on these perpetrators. Let’s improve our tips, you know, the leads that we’re getting.

Also for the grass root level, for the DILG, let us create ordinances, you know, to properly apprise the barangays on how to report cases of OSAEC and CSAEM. For the DICT as well, so that they can also help with the private sector for them to be more cooperative, of course, because they have data that will help us generate and lead us to IP addresses of certain users which will be helpful for our law enforcement agency officers to crackdown on who are sending these kinds of CSAEM, who are receiving these kinds of CSAEM.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you, Atty. Magsaysay. Let’s move on to Asec. Clavano.

ASEC. CLAVANO: Good morning, everyone. Yes, this is indeed a very heavy topic because despite our efforts being considered a best practice around our region, we still see the insurgence of this type of crime. And as aptly described earlier, it’s an egregious crime, very heinous crime, and we believe that it is imbedded in the culture already.

There are certain difficulties that the law enforcement sees when trying to quell this type of crime or to prevent this type of crime, because as also mentioned, it’s a hidden crime and it’s hard to spot especially because it’s done within the homes of the families of the victims.

And as pointed out, 74% of the cases are, well, perpetrated by those that fall within what is called the circle of trust, and that involves or that includes parents, close relatives and those who assert moral influence over the child.

And obviously, these things are very alarming. Yesterday, at the meeting, the President was visibly distressed, very bothered and clearly stressed with the information that was relayed to him which is why he gave the directive, a very strong directive to the DOJ, to the PNP and other law enforcement agencies to further intensify the efforts. Not to say that we have not yet put any effort into this, there are a lot of key result areas which we are monitoring, which have been mentioned by ED Kit over here.

But his directive is to further intensify these efforts, to further look into how we can come up with a holistic solution. Because this cannot only be done by whole-of-government approach, but if not, whole-of-nation approach which includes the private sector, the social media platforms where these crimes usually occur. Facebook, for example, he asked the DOJ to intensify talks with Facebook and to remind them of their obligations under the law.

So all of these have been taken into, obviously, we’ve taken note of all the directives of the President. And we do plan to implement them within our respective areas and respective departments and agencies.

So under the DOJ, because we have already set forth Department Circular 20 which requires now the prosecutors to work hand in hand with our police officers, we believe that with the legal background and the law enforcement investigation skills of the police officers, we are able to build quality cases for the courts. Because previously, there was only very little or a very low level of evidence required to file a case. With the DC 20, with the advent of DC 20, only those that have sufficient evidence and a prima facie case with the reasonable certainty of conviction will be filed before the courts, thereby increasing the conviction rate.

So this, obviously, puts a lot of pressure on our law enforcement agencies to get the right evidence, to get the right statements, to get the right witnesses to testify to be able to come up with a very strong case. And I think this is one of the things that will help us in this endeavor, to prevent finally or to finally put an end to OSAEC and CSAEM.

So with that, I would probably turn over the mic to General Portia to give the side of the PNP. Thank you very much.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: General Manalad, go ahead.

PNP P/BRIG. GEN. PORTIA: The Women and Children Protection Center is the lead agency when it comes to OSAEC, being OSAEC considered as a trafficking in person case. Since 2019, we are trying our best to do something or prevent OSAEC from happening. But then the law was passed, on OSAEC, which is RA 11930 last 2022 and we have numbers on operations, arrested and rescued victims.

The Philippine National Police under the WCPCs work in OSAEC cases are investigations, operations to rescue victims and arrest facilitators in the Philippines. We also collaborate with other foreign law enforcement agencies through the PICAC or the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children, which is under the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center. The PICAC is composed of the UK National Crime Agency, the Australian Federal Police, the Netherlands Police and the IJM. So together, they refer cases when they find on the devices, on the other countries, when they arrest criminals who have on their devices CSAEM, and then refer to us if there are Asian-looking or Filipino children and we do the rescue and arrest of facilitators.

In the Philippines, we only have facilitators or groomers. Right now, we don’t have yet those perpetrators buying CSAEM. So, that is for the Philippine National Police.

OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. Any questions? Okay, Harley Valbuena, DZME.

BALBUENA/DZME: Good morning po. May we know if there is already a reported case of AI-generated child exploitation material in the Philippines and what are our preparations against this?

PNP P/BRIG. GEN. PORTIA: Right now, we don’t have AI-generated. But the Philippine National Police, and of course, the IACAT have been preparing for that. I just arrived from a meeting through the Virtual Global Task Force, where even other countries like South Korea are still developing a tool to identify AI-generated CSAEM.

BALBUENA/DZME: Are we doing the same, ma’am? We also develop a system to counter that?

PNP P/BRIG. GEN. PORTIA: Yes, as partners of those countries, we are trying to develop those tools in order to come up with one.

HALILI/TV5: Hello, magandang umaga po. Can we have details kung saan usually na areas natin nakikita na rampant itong OSAEC and CSAEM, and sino usually iyong market nila?

DOJ EXEC. DIR. ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Ang nakikita po naming rampant areas ngayon of OSAEC and CSAEM ay Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Taguig. So, iyon po iyong nakikita natin. Your second question is kung bakit po ito nangyayari?

HALILI/TV5: At kung sino iyong market nila.

DOJ EXEC. DIR. ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Ah, okay. Well definitely they target the vulnerable. So, who are the vulnerable, they are the children na who are in the poorer side of the country, who are in the rural areas, tina-target nila sila because they are easy targets, because OSAEC is a financially-lucrative activity. So, kumakagat na iyong mga victims, mga P300, P200 for just showing CSAEM, showing nude pictures. Ganoon na po sila.

HALILI/TV5: P200?

DOJ EXEC. DIR. ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: P200, P300, yes po. That is how bad it is. That is why nagugulat rin po kami na parang mas mababa ngayon ang value pero mas madaming CSAEM and it is because of that, kaya it’s becoming cheaper, it’s becoming more accessible to perpetrators. So, iyon po ang nakakagulat rin po, it’s very alarming because CSAEM has become more accessible to these perpetrators.

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: So, the following are the key findings of OSAEC victims. The average age of OSAEC victims at the time of referral or rescue was 11 years old, with less than one year old being the youngest. In fact, earlier, the youngest victim was about three months old, which is very alarming. It’s something that is unthinkable for us but apparently, it happens and all we have to do really is to spread the awareness, spread the information that these things are really not normal. Where the facilitator is a parent or family member, the model victim age is in the pre-adolescent range; while where the family facilitator is not a family member, the model age profile is the adolescent age. Victims of OSAEC were predominantly female at 86% and a significant number of victims which is 14%, were male.

OSAEC was usually a family-based crime, with the biological parents facilitating the abuse of 41% of the victims and other relatives facilitating abuse for another 42% of the victims. And without intervention, the abuse usually lasts for two years. So, this is the information and the research done by the National Coordinating Center, and obviously these were going to be the target areas and the policies, obviously, will revolve around the data that was collected.

HALILI/TV 5: And sino iyong bumibili ng mga materials? Are they foreigners? From what countries?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, usually they are older men, from English-speaking and more developed and Western countries. But the customers, as noted here, are not necessarily even pedophiles. Meaning to say, they don’t have any overt acts in their own countries where they display pedophile tendencies. So, they just enjoy watching them on the internet, social media and other platforms. So, which is again, very alarming because we seem to be a favorite spot or a source for these Western countries to abuse, to simply view and it really does not feel comfortable for us in government that our children are being used and viewed all over the country in this way.

FRANCISCO/PTV4: Hi, sir. Hi, ma’am. Cagayan de Oro, Iligan both from Mindanao and isa sa Taguig dito sa NCR, anong commonalities, sir, ng tatlong ito? Anong panawagan ninyo, sir, sa authorities sa tatlong, we consider top three, na mataas iyong kaso na ganitong—yes, hotspots ito, sir and ma’am? Go ahead po.

DOJ EXEC. DIR. ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: You know, when you say, kasi po there are a lot of incidents of OSAEC in those areas na po, it could be a good thing and bad thing, why do I say that. It could be a bad thing obviously, kasi maraming OSAEC ang nangyayari doon. But it could also be a good thing, kasi that means mataas ang reporting. Because ang masama dito sa OSAEC, walang nagri-report. That’s the challenge that we are trying to address here, it’s as what sina Asec are saying and sina Police Brigadier are saying na this is a hidden crime, walang gustong magsumbong, walang child ang—natatakot sila, that’s their parents who are the traffickers, who are doing that to them. Takot sila na makukulong iyong mga parents nila. No one wants to report this. Sa mga neighbors naman nila, ayaw rin nilang mag-report, iyong mga neighbors, kasi para sa kanila dapat walang pakialaman, you know, this is a family affair.

So iyon po, to know the true extent or the prevalence of OSAEC ay talagang mahirap po talaga to get an accurate data because of the underreporting. So, iyon po.

MAYRINA/GMA7: Nabanggit po ninyo, nag-number one source ng OSAEC ang Pilipinas in 2016, has that changed?

DOJ EXEC. DIR. ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: I think, it’s better for us to be termed as a global hotspot, kasi iyon nga po, the prevalence, I think the accuracy of the data, it’s hard to detect, first of all, kasi pati iyong live streaming, we consider that live streaming of OSAEC and CSAEM as a violation of the law but wala pang internet intermediary and nakakakuha or nakaka-note na mayroong CSAEM going on in their live streaming platform. So, we can’t really catch that.

That is one of the things that we are in continuous talks with the internet intermediaries, mga social media platforms, is that we need to catch them. You know, the live streaming platforms that you are providing to your users dapat mahuli rin natin sila doon, kasi madaming nangyayari niyan eh.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA-7: Yeah. I was actually going to get there next. Are we getting cooperation from the telcos and also from the social media platforms by which these are perpetrator?

ATTY. MARGARITA MAGSAYSAY: Yeah. So, we are getting cooperation; mayroon namang mga internet intermediaries who give us access to their portals which is easier for our intelligence agent to report to them any cases of OSAEC and CSAEM – that’s good. But, ‘ayun nga, under the law kasi marami rin talaga silang duties and responsibilities eh. Like for example, their turnaround time to report into the DOJ any incidences of OSAEC is 24 hours. Naku-comply naman pero, you know, sometimes may mga lapses din.

At saka ayun nga, we hope to be able to mandate ano po iyong mga internet service providers to continuously upgrade their system kasi we’re hoping na we’ll have that technology na hindi na po tayo IPv4 – IPv6 na sana. What do I mean by that? The way I understand it is we are able to detect from one IP address to one definite user. So, I understand, that will be a definite big help sa mga law enforcement agents namin because they have the information. Kaya lang iyong IPv4 na binibigay sa kanila ay ang daming mga users who are using the same IPv address, so ayun po.

That’s under the law, talagang it’s just a matter of pushing talaga or getting a policy from the government mandating mga telcos.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA-7: One last from my end. Do we have an estimate how much money goes around in OSAEC? I mean, how much is the “industry worth”?

ATTY. MARGARITA MAGSAYSAY: I can give you po iyong STRs, the Suspicious Transaction Report that is reported by the AMLC. So, in their study ano po, the volume of the Suspicious Transaction Report that was reported to them by the covered persons – mga banks ito, mga money service businesses – for the year 2020 ay 83,348,106 in value. So, that’s just for the… yes, in pesos. So, that’s just for the second half ‘no, second half of 2020.

In 2021, iyong STR volume po, Suspicious Transaction Report was 68,214 – that’s the volume and iyong value naman noong volume na iyon is ₱996,705,339.80. Sa 2022 naman, the STR volume is 92,200 and its value was ₱478,278,797.81.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA-7: So, safe to say billions na po ang umikot na pera dito?

ATTY. MARGARITA MAGSAYSAY: Yes.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA-7: Thank you.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Maybe also we can go back to how… during the pandemic when the children were at home – they were not safe, okay. The study also shows that children are largely unsupervised online in the Philippines – meaning akala ninyo safe sila, tahimik sila, okay sila pero hindi ninyo naman alam kung anong ginagawa nila sa internet. So, unsupervised by parents, they are English-speaking so targeted sila ng mga predators abroad dahil madali silang kausap at mababait ang mga Filipinos, they’re hospitable; and again, easy and free access to the internet and mobile phones dito sa Pilipinas.

Kaya naman yesterday, President Marcos was very, very alarmed and very, very disturbed at gusto niya itong tutukan ng lahat ng ahensiya and whole-of-society, and even the private sector. Dahil sabi niya, “Wala sa kultura natin ito. Hindi ito gawa ng Pilipino.” However, dahil online na siya at masyado na siyang common, even the parents think na wala namang nasasaktan dahil camera lang siya. Pero mali iyon, mali iyon!

Okay. Let’s go to Julie Aurelio, Inquirer.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Hello. Atty. Magsaysay, you mentioned… well, you’ve all mentioned that OSAEC and CSAEM is a hidden crime. Given that we have a problem with the reporting of cases, do you have like a projection or estimate of how much actually goes unreported? Say, if you have, say five cases, how much is actually unreported to you?

ATTY. MARGARITA MAGSAYSAY: It’s hard to capture something po na unreported. But ganito na lang po…

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Just a projection.

ATTY. MARGARITA MAGSAYSAY: Yeah. So, a lot of our investigations na po or actually coming from international law enforcement, iyong sinasabi po ni Police General na PICAC ano po, we have very good coordination with them and doon lang natin sometimes nalalaman na mayroon palang biktima dito, and I think we get a lot of our tips and leads from the foreign law enforcement. So nakakatulong po sila because ‘ayun nga, if we don’t have any tips coming from them of any Filipino victim who is in the Philippines, we will not know because it’s hard to be able to know kung walang reporting sa ganoon.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Sorry, ma’am, my next question is directed to you. So, tama po ba iyong intindi ko, there are little to few cases reported to local law enforcement? Tama ba, ma’am, General Manalad?

P/BGEN. PORTIA MANALAD: Yes, ma’am, ganito po kasi iyan. May mga findings kami na—sa ibang bansa kapag may mga nahuli iyong ating mga other foreign law enforcement agencies, they will refer those cases to us kapag may nakita sila sa devices na may mga Asian-looking. So kapag nakita nila iyon, ni-refer sa amin – we will try to find iyong bata kung sinuman iyong nandoon sa CSAEM. And then kapag nakita namin na Pilipino iyon, we will try to rescue the child and arrest iyong kaniyang facilitator na sinabi natin kanina, usually somebody na parang relative or guardian noong bata.

Ganito po kasi iyong nakikita namin – isang facilitator, maraming bata so kaya dumadami iyong CSAEM natin kasi sa isang bata usually dalawa/tatlo, ganoon po iyon. So, isang facilitator o isang offender na nasa Philippines ang kaniyang nakukuha or iyong nasa ibang bansa, ang nakukuha niyang CSAEM ay marami – maraming bata ang kaniyang nalu-lure o iyong nakukuha o nagu-groom iyong tawag ho namin. So, maraming CSAEM from the Philippines, sometimes isa lang ang offender o isa lang ang facilitator or groomer.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Just a follow up, sorry, just a last question. Following up on that, when you arrest the perpetrators or the groomers or the facilitators of the crime, ano iyong sinasabi nila sa inyo, why do they do that to their own wards, to their own children? And the second question may be answered by the DOJ. Do we have statistics on the successful prosecution of such cases like which actually reached the prosecutors level, the court level, et cetera? Thank you.

P/BGEN. PORTIA MANALAD: Of course iyong sasabihin nila, kailangan nila ng pera. Talagang napakadali hong kumita dito sa ganitong transaksiyon lalo na kung galing sa ibang bansa. Iyong isang offender namin, millions ang kita niya sa isang buwan. So, masyadong lucrative or ano nga iyon, masyado siyang enticing and iyong kanilang galing lang sa paggawa ng mga channels ang kanilang puhunan.

Others naman lalo na kung ito ay kamag-anak ang facilitator or grooming para magbigay o gumawa ng isang content ang bata o isang CSAEM, usually hindi nila alam, iyong mga magulang, na ito pala ay kung hindi naman physically nahahawakan iyong bata ay walang harm doon sa bata; o kaya, sometimes iyong mga magulang ay wala doon at itong mga bata ay nasa guardian.

So, ganoon po iyong nakikita namin usually na reason o iyong mga bakit iyong bata ay mayroon nang CSAEM sa internet.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Iyong sa prosecution po, sir?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Yes. So, I have data here on the convictions made under several laws before the OSAEC Law was passed. So, since 2009, there have been 523 convictions. When the law was passed in 2022, out of the 523, almost 200 convictions were made after the law was passed. So, we see a very significant jump ‘no after this law and this tool was given to the law enforcement and to the prosecution to actually convict perpetrators of OSAEC and CSAEM.

However, this number is still not satisfactory to the government and to the President. And that is why, he asked and he directed the relevant agencies to further ramp off their efforts, because even if we have seen a spike because of the law that was given to us, and we obviously thank the Congress for giving us such valuable tool in preventing this and to catch these perpetuators, we still think that there’s a lot to be done, a lot of ground to be covered in terms of OSAEC. And as already mentioned, this will come in the form of grassroots reporting mechanism, whereby people who are embedded in the community, people who have standing in their areas will serve as that mechanism to bridge between the community where the crime actually happens and the law enforcement who can do something about it.

But even then, just so I may add, even if the law enforcement gets a whole of the information, it’s still a tough job considering that most of the perpetrators are within the circle of trust. So, we have to look at the problem holistically to be able to come up with the holistic solution as well because once you separate the families from the child victim the problem does not end there. You have to be able to reintegrate them properly into society without the necessary rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration into the community, then, you’re just creating a bigger problem.

So, these two things go hand and hand – the conviction, the prosecution wherein we will take strides in making improvements, but also the reintegration reformation rehabilitation of the victims.

OSEÑA-PAEZ: Alvin Baltazar, Radyo Pilipinas.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/ RADYO PILIPINAS: Good morning, sir. May I should address my question to General Manalad. General, can you say it lang po iyong several traumas na na-experience noong victim particularly doon sa mga bata, since pinag-uusapan natin mga bata? And ano po iyong mga ginagawa nating measures para iyong naranasan nilang ganitong mga experience hindi nila dalhin sa paglaki nila?

PNP POL BRIG. GEN. MANALAD: Nasabi ko ho kanina na ang WCPC ng Philippine National Police is involved in the investigation, pati rescue and the arrest of the facilitator. During the process ho, of course, iyon hong ating mga investigators are trained to handle children. And, may mga tools na rin ho tayo like VD, the video, during the interview, mayroon na rin ho tayong tools na ginagamit, so that they will not be re-traumatized when they tell what happen to them, iyong pag-interview ng pulis.

During the interview ho, nandoon ang DSWD as part of the IACAT, and then, iyon pong psychological intervention ho, under ho iyon ng DSWD. Sa amin ho is the interview, so that we can file cases against the perpetrators.

But then, ganoon din ho, kami ho ay trained in the Philippines and abroad on how to handle children, victims of OSAEC. So, sa tingin ko ho…and iyong trauma ho nakikita namin na mayroon ho kaming mga dating na-rescue pero ngayon ho ay facilitators na when they grow up. Iyon ho ang mga nakikita namin na may mga nakita ho kami na ganoon. Though kakaunti ho, iyon ho ang ayaw naming maulit pa.

But then, maganda ho iyong programa ng gobyerno, especially ng tulong ng IACAT through iyong different agencies, lalo na iyong DSWD as partner ho namin during the handling or iyong interviewing of the child victim.

OSEÑA-PAEZ: Alexis Romero, Philippine Star.

ALEXIS ROMERO/ PHILIPPINE STAR: Iyong nabanggit ni General, medyo disturbing po iyon, ‘yung dating victims naging exploiters na. So, tanong ko muna, ano po bang sectors iyong vulnerable sa ganitong uri ng crimes sa ngayon, ano iyong profile noong mga usually nabibiktima nito, although nabanggit ninyo iyong there are from poor families mostly?

DOJ ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: A lot of studies actually po were conducted already regarding sa OSAEC na po. So, this was a study conducted by IGM, iyong mga key findings ng mga OSAEC victims. So, I think that was actually mentioned also by Asec. Mico ‘no, so they are usually from the vulnerable sector of society. Usually also, family-based crime siya, so usually dapat may access talaga iyong facilitator sa child. Is that po what you’re asking, kung ano po ng iyong profiles nila?

ALEXIS ROMERO/ PHILIPPINE STAR: So, usually low income family?

DOJ ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Low income, yes. Opo.

ALEXIS ROMERO/ PHILIPPINE STAR: So, what we are doing to address kasi apparently nagiging cycle siya? So in the long term, how do you change the mindset of these people, kasi may mga tao na na-rescue ninyo, and then babalik din sila sa dati and worse they can even encourage some people around them na ‘oh this is a lucrative business’? So, how do you end that kind of cycle?

DOJ ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: So, this is where the wonderful partnership with civil society organization and NGOs come in. We were fortunate enough to meet, there is NGO they’re called Bidlisiw Foundation, I am not sure if anyone has heard of them. They’re based in Cebu, and what they do, is that those OSAEC and trafficked victims who are reintegrated into a society, hinahanapan nila ng trabaho.

So they partner with private sectors and they are trying to train these mga reintegrated victims and capacitate them in order for them to be employable sa mga partner nila with private sectors. So you know, as mentioned by General Manalad, the DSWD is also its part, pero ang maganda rin talaga dito madaming NGOs also who are helping out, who have that kind of program. So, isa na iyon, maganda po talaga, we were able to visit iyong mga ginagawa nilang mga programs, mga baking ganoon, iyong parang mga helping out sa mga call center agents.

So, minsan though ang napapansin nila nag-relapse iyong mga OSAEC victims, but then you know, they were saying na we’re always here to help you out also, you can always comeback huwag na kayong lumingon ulit, you know, keep moving forward. So, that just one of the many programs that other NGOs are also doing para tuluy-tuloy na gumanda iyong buhay nila after the incident.

OSEÑA-PAEZ: Though poverty is one of the biggest drivers of this crime, the P resident did say yesterday that “Poverty is not an excuse to hurt children” at nanawagan siya sa mga pamilya na bantayan ang mga bata dahil wala talagang, for him talaga, walang crime na mas malaki than this.

Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ ABS-CBN: Kay General Manalad po, going back doon po sa question doon sa AI-generated exploitation materials, you said na wala pa pong reports na nangyayari dito sa Pilipinas. But how seriously is the PNP and the government are looking at this? And also, sino po kaya iyong puwedeng maging vulnerable with this new type of technology and what is the government about this po?

PNP POL BRIG. GEN. MANALAD: Doon po sa AI-generated, gaya ho ng sinabi ko, even other countries are still developing the tool in order to really identify AI-generated. Kasi hindi naman ho puwede nating sabihin na AI-generated ito. Ang isang challenge nga ho sa atin dito is kapag na identity natin, kahit nga iyong ibang bansa, kapag na-identify na AI-generated ito, iyong batas ba natin ay sapat para masabi na ito ay CSAEM.

So, kahit iyong ibang bansa po, iyong mga ibang law enforcement agency ay challenge ho ito sa kanila talaga. So we’re still developing that tool. We are very serious ho, we really parang tinitingnan ho namin ito na challenge talaga para amin, later on. Kasi ngayon nga lang ho di ba ho nasa [unclear] sila, kami ho ay we are trying to find really iyong technology na kaya nila na habulin o parati ho silang nandoon sa kumbaga step ahead sa amin.

And then, itong AI-generated we are really doing everything na iyong mga personnel namin, doing iyong undercover and investigation ay trained with the tools, we are still waiting for the tools but we are ongoing na ho iyong training for the AI-generated and other AI materials iyong para sa CSAEM po.

Q: Hindi po ba tayo natatakot na by the time na we get the tools already or the technology is in place already, it’s already too late na?

P/BGEN. MANALAD: Sa ngayon ho, mayroon ng trainings; and then the tools, we are waiting for that one, for the law enforcement side po. For CSAEM ho ito ha, hindi iyong AI na ibang ano. We are waiting for that one. Last week lang ho, I was able to join iyong virtual global task force, mayroon na silang dini-develop so baka padating na rin ho sa atin and iti-train din ho iyong mga tao natin. Pero ang iba’t ibang UN agencies naman po are giving already … kina-capacitate na iyong ating mga law enforcers para doon sa identification; but wala pa ho noong tools.

Q: Kung puwede rin pong magtanong ng other topic?

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Wait, before we move on to another topic. Is yours related to this, Sam? Yeah, Sam Medenilla, Business Mirror.

SAM MEDENILLA/BUSINESS MIRROR: For Ma’am Magsaysay po. Earlier, na-mention po nila iyong data ng transactions na galing sa data ng AMLC, iyong regarding po doon sa suspicious transaction report. Bale iyong data po na iyon, purely related lang po sa OSAEC at CSAEM or my other illegal activities din na nandoon sa amount na iyon?

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Opo. The way that the covered person reported it sa ALMC po, sa mga narrative report nila sa STR, it was tagged as CSAEM or child pornography ‘no before ang tawag doon, but it’s OSAEC na po ngayon eh. So, yes, just to OSAEC.

SAM MEDENILLA/BUSINESS MIRROR: Tapos ano po ba iyong primary mode for transacting? Na-mention po nila na millions of pesos iyong nag-i-exchange dito. So ano po ba iyong ginagamit nilang mode para mag—

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Ang madalas po ay money service banks. So iyon po ang nakikita na trend po ng AMLC. It’s mostly money being generated from or remittances coming from money service banks.

SAM MEDENILLA/BUSINESS MIRROR: Tapos are there any measures to regulate this para hindi na po siya magamit?

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Well, our AMLC po has conducted po mga studies na po. So included sa mga studies nila, may mga red flags doon, indicators, what could possibly constitute, what money transactions could possibly constitute OSAEC and CSAEM.

So for instance, money in small amount na coming from abroad to someone in the Philippines na hindi naman nila kamag-anak. ‘Di ba, parang little by little na every day, kahit gaano kaliit pero laging may natatanggap from that certain person, or from someone from abroad na laging may pinapadala na little amount but to different people dito sa Philippines. So those are some—it’s hard kasi po eh. Kasi ‘di ba hindi naman talaga OSAEC at CSAEM ang nakikita nila, but those could be red flag indicators that that kind of crime is ongoing.

So under the law also po, they are—we are waiting po for the guidelines for the AMLC in order to properly guide po iyong mga payment system providers natin on what constitutes as red flags, as what possible money transactions could be OSAEC.

SAM MEDENILLA/BUSINESS MIRROR: Tapos last question na lang po: Na-mention din po nila kanina na nakikipag-cooperate po sila sa mga social media at telcos. Na-mention po nila na mayroon sila iyong reporting mechanism, pero mayroon din po bang data regarding doon sa kung ilang accounts iyong pina-close down ng mga social media or telcos regarding dito sa..?

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: So ang close down po is different from take down. So when you say close down, sa NTC iyon. Sila talaga iyong nagba-block ng buong website; kapag take down naman, you just take down the material, opo. So I do have data, I’ll just skim over po of my notes for that, but one moment.

So sa IACAT po and sa NCC-OSAEC, we have our cyber-TIP monitoring center. So we have intelligence agents there. So since August of 2023, ang take down po na cases nila—na-take down po nila using the Meta portal – Meta which is Facebook – ay 81, 81 take down na po na mga OSAEC at CSAEM materials.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Kay Brigadier General Manalad. Is it possible po, General, na ngayon pa lang ay puwedeng pag-aralan na po ang posibleng batas na puwedeng isulong sa Kongreso laban po dito sa mga AI-generated materials para pagdating ng trainings ninyo ay mayroon na ring nakasuportang batas, ano po, lalo’t alam naman natin ngayon ay talagang talamak po itong mga deepfake ano, lalo ang Pangulo natin ay isa na rin sa mga biktima po?

PNP P/BGEN. MANALAD: Ma’am, pasok na po siya sa Republic Act 11930. Nag-uusap po kami ni Asec po, pasok na po siya sa Republic Act 11930. We’re just—kanina ho, ang sinasabi kong challenge is iyong kapag dumating ho siya ay iyong katulad sa ibang bansa na hindi siya … iyon hong technology ho kasi, ang pinag-uusapan ho natin dito is the technology. But then, kung ito hong pinag-uusapan natin is the basic AI-generated ‘di ba po, it’s already in the law, RA 11930.

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: Just to build on what General said. Because there are some internet intermediaries, mayroon na silang systems in place kapag real child ang involved. Iyon talaga, madi-detect nila if CSAEC is going on. But they’re telling us, their system does not yet recognize AI-generated children. So I guess that’s what General Manalad po is saying, is that they’re trying to improve or upgrade their system to recognize this AI-generated images of children.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Isa pa ho. Can you consider it as lucrative business talaga kaya parang paulit-ulit lang, pabalik-balik? At saka hindi ho ba dapat mas stiffer iyong penalty laban doon mga mapapatunayan po either kahit magulang pa nila iyan or kamag-anak para hindi na parang pabalik-balik, paulit-ulit lang iyong nangyayaring ganitong mga kaso?

PBGEN. MANALAD: Ma’am, kapag napatunayan po na nag-violate talaga ng RA 11930, ang pinakamataas na penalty yata, ma’am, is life imprisonment. Iyon po ang nasa batas.

Lucrative po! Kanina po nasabi, ma’am, na talagang millions, hundreds of millions ang kinikita ng facilitator or ng perpetrator po. So sa tingin ko po, very lucrative siya when it comes to financial gain.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Last na lang po. Kunwari po iyong bata, ang facilitator ay iyong magulang, mayroon na po bang pagkakataon na nag-urong ng reklamo iyong bata or hindi niya po pinayagan na makasuhan iyong magulang, ang atin pong batas ang siyang nagsusulong ng kaso against sa magulang?

PBGEN. MANALAD: Sa ngayon po ay wala pa kaming nakita na umurong iyong bata dahil magulang o nanay. Usually ho ang bata ay nakahiwalay na kaagad sa magulang o iyong perpetrator or facilitator ay iyong nanay niya o iyong tatay niya.

ATTY. MAGSAYSAY: To add to that, we actually have, the DOJ actually issued a memorandum circular directing all our prosecutors to vehemently oppose mga affidavit of desistance that was executed by the child or the family or the guardians. So ayun po. That’s actually also as directed under the law, bawal po ang affidavit of desistance.

LEONILET NARCISO/DZRH: Asec. Clavano, doon po sa nabanggit na 200 convictions noong 2022, puwede pong malaman out of ilang cases na na-file ito.

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: About 750 cases. So it’s a very high conviction rate, again, mainly because of the case buildup rule. So nagkaroon po tayo ng magandang mekanismo together with the police and the prosecutors na hindi naman tayo magpa-file ng case kapag alam natin na mahina ang ebidensiya.

So, with the new department circular mandating the hand-in-hand coordination between the police and the prosecutors, we’ve come up with a very good conviction rate, however, just the number of cases that have been filed alone are unsatisfactory to us so far. So, kahit maganda po iyong conviction rate and at least we know that we have a good mechanism on hand, we still have to ramp up the number of cases being filed in court.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Go ahead, Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Other topic po, Asec. Clavano. Si former Senator Trillanes said that he has information that ICC investigators are already in communication with active and former PNP officials in connection to their ongoing probe on the previous administration’s drug war. Is the DOJ aware of this?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, we have not received the same information ‘no. So, just like everybody else, we found out from Senator Trillanes about this supposed development. But, I think we’ve been consistent from the very start that we have a working justice system here in the Philippines evidenced by a lot of different cases and reforms that we have been undertaking – and the commitment has never been stronger ‘no to prevent and to hold responsible and accountable those erring law enforcement officers who engaged in this heinous crime, I would say ‘no, of extrajudicial killings.

So, even without verifying the information, the government’s stance is consistent ever since; the President has been very firm by saying that we will not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC because we indeed have a very well and robust justice system.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Following on that, sir. Since the Philippines will not cooperate in the ICC probe, does that cover government officials as well? Meaning, bawal po ba silang makipag-cooperate on their personal capacity if kinontak sila ng ICC?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, as mentioned by the Solicitor General, this is a government policy. So, when a government officer or official is coordinating with the ICC against the direction or the orders and the policy of the government, there may be accountability involved. So, it’s… you know, if there’s any law enforcement or government official that goes against the policies and orders of the authorities in position, then obviously there will be some sort of conflict of interest, there will be accountabilities and definitely liabilities that go with it.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: What about retired officials, sir?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, if they are acting in their civilian capacity or personal capacity, then of course we have little to hold over them ‘no. However, again, we will not recognize anything that will come out of that conversation or coordination with them.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Last na lang, sir. Anong puwedeng ikaso sa kanila, iyong mga magko-cooperate, sir, na government officials?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: There are certain provisions under Republic Act 6713 which is the Conduct of Public Officers. So, these are ethical guidelines followed by all public officials and obviously, if you against the policy, it will be found under those provisions ‘no, the liabilities.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. Alvin Baltazar, Radyo Pilipinas.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Asec. Clavano, other matters din po. Asec., any update on the legal process currently being undertaken on the case of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy with his refusal to subject himself to the court’s jurisdiction?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, obviously, the respondent or the accused has to submit his person to the court for the court to be able to assert its jurisdiction and to subject him to other processes under the law. As of right now, there are two outstanding warrants of arrests for the two cases of child abuse and qualified trafficking.

Just as an update as well, we’ve transferred the cases from Davao to Pasig City so that the same team of prosecutors may be able to prosecute both cases together and jointly ‘no.

We are still… obviously he’s still at large so the law enforcement agents are still on the lookout and they’ve continued the operations to be able to arrest on the basis of the warrants that have been issued by the court.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Asec., since nabanggit ninyo na he is still at large, based on the information you have, nandito pa rin ba siya sa Pilipinas?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Yes, we do have information that he is still within the country unless there are new developments from the police ‘no. But, as far as our information is concerned at the DOJ, he is currently still in the country.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Isa na lang, Asec. How about the case of Bantag and Teves? Kumusta na po sila?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Well, on the… obviously there’s an international component to the Teves cases ‘no. He is now arrested and under the custody of the police in Timor Leste. However, we are awaiting the decision of the courts there as we have submitted already the request for extradition ‘no.

The NBI, when they got to Timor Leste, actually that operation was a success because when they had arrived in Timor Leste – two hours after their arrival, the arrest of Teves happened ‘no. And for them to come home without him is not an unsuccessful operation. In fact, it was successful because the only responsibility of the law enforcement especially the NBI director was to have him arrested – so it was a success. I think the director was just being humble when he said that they were being uncooperative over there but it was not… it was no longer his responsibility – it is the responsibility of the legal team to now go through the process to have him extradited or deported back to the Philippines.

So, you know with these things, we just have to stay patient. We are dotting all the I’s, crossing all the T’s to make sure that we follow the right process, we afford the respondent due process so that there is nothing that can be attributed to the government saying that we did not… we took shortcuts and whatnot. So, we have taken every process possible to get this done and we’re here at the tail end now. Once he’s back here in the Philippines, we hope that he will muster the courage to finally face his charges in court.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Iyong kay Bantag, Asec.?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Iyong kay Bantag, patuloy pa din po iyong manhunt ho natin ‘no. We have a general idea already of his whereabouts so it’s just a matter of time. Again, with these things, we just have to stay patient – these things don’t happen overnight. The wheels of justice, they grind slowly but they grind very finely, so we just have to stay patient.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Thank you po, Asec.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Last question, Julie Aurelio, Inquirer.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: May request po iyong Akbayan for the DOJ to issues a hold departure order against Quiboloy. What do you have to say about that request? Thank you.

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Yes, that has been brought up and I believe the prosecutors have already filed their motion ‘no to issue hold departure order – these are normal legal processes that the prosecutors are very used to. So, once you have a respondent or an accused that is a flight risk especially given the resources that this person has, then the prosecutors are very diligent in making sure that that doesn’t happen ‘no, that the accused is able to leave the country without actually facing the allegations in the proper forum.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: But so far, sir, is he on the lookout bulletin of the BI?

DOJ ASEC. CLAVANO: Yes, yes.

JULIE AURELIO/INQUIRER: Thank you, sir.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Thank you for all the questions, Malacañang Press Corps. And again, on the OSAEC and CSAEM, the President would like to convene another meeting next month so we should probably hear another update from that.

Thank you, General Manalad, Asec. Clavano and Atty. Magsaysay of the DOJ; and maraming salamat, Malacañang Press Corps. Good afternoon.

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