Lawmaker wants to criminalize operation of cybersex dens

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker sought yesterday to criminalize the operation of cybersex dens and impose stiffer penalties, including a prison term of 30 years.

Pampanga Rep. Carmelo Lazatin has filed House Bill1444 or the “Anti-Cybersex Act” to ban the operation of cybersex dens.

Lazatin said HB1444 aims to lessen the widespread incidence of prostitution and pornography in the Philippines.

“Unless rigid measures are founded against these abuses, society will bear the social costs since proliferation of obscene and pornographic materials and rampant exhibition of lewd shows in our midst have threatened the moral fiber of our society,” he said.

Lazatin said Internet technology is now accessible to minors that its impact on the moral fiber of society is unimaginable.

“Amidst all of these are the youth who are the heaviest users and primary audience of mass media,” he said.

“If left unchecked, these obscene practices will impose its detrimental effects psychologically, morally and physically.”

It is urgent to intensify the campaign against cybersex, given the numerous studies pointing to a higher correlation of exposure to pornography, prostitution and the incidence of sex crimes, Lazatin said.

The bill aims to make a person criminally liable for obscene acts through live sex shows where heterosexuals or homosexuals perform sexual acts, oral and anal and through the depiction of sex mixed with sacrilege, and through the photographs depicting sex acts with children or adults.

The bill provides penalties ranging from P250,000 to P1 million and imprisonment of not more than 30 years.