Schools told to strengthen child protection committees

MANILA, Philippines — Following reports of rampant child pornography online, the Department of Education (DepEd) yesterday directed public and private elementary and high schools to establish and strengthen child protection committees to help address online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

The DepEd expressed alarm over the increasing cases of child abuse and exploitation during the COVID-19 pandemic, including reports of students selling sensual videos and photos to support their education.

Such abuse and exploitation, according to the agency, are prohibited under existing laws such as the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

It also noted that there are inter-agency efforts to prevent and address child pornography, including those happening online.

“Even before the pandemic, the DepEd has launched several initiatives for the protection of children,” the agency said.

“We have conducted cyber safety training programs in schools to protect our learners from online abuse, violence, exploration, discrimination and bullying. We also have developed and distributed materials related to child online protection,” it added.

Through child protection committees, the DepEd said schools could proactively initiate information dissemination programs and organize activities for the protection of children, as mandated by the child protection policy of 2012.

It added that the rising cases of child exploitation and abuse call for better collaboration and cooperation among national agencies and local communities, especially during the pandemic.

“The DepEd is one with the rest of the government and private organizations in this mission to curb the exploitation of children,” the agency said. “We must not let our children be exposed to such corrupt acts under any circumstances.”

A report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council has revealed that P113.1 million worth of suspicious transactions related to child pornography were reported in the first half of last year.

The National Bureau of Investigation also initiated an investigation over reports of students selling sensual videos online.

Reacting to reports that this so-called “Christmas sale” was done to address distance learning needs of the students, the DepEd said they have implemented flexible learning modalities to ensure that education will not be costly.

“We are continuously reminding our direct stakeholders that gadgets or internet connections are not requirements for distance learning,” the agency said.

“Depending on the available resources, public schools are also implementing other alternative distance learning modalities such as modular, radio and television-based instruction,” it added.