2 girls rescued from online sexual exploitation

MANILA, Philippines — Two girls aged 15 and 12, who were being featured in online sexual exploitation materials, have been rescued in Tarlac, authorities reported yesterday.

The raid in Capas town on Thursday stemmed from a tip from the Austrian police about one of their citizens who received child exploitation materials from two Filipinos. One of them is reportedly the mother of one of the girls.

The materials included 100 to 150 videos and 500 pictures featuring the victims, according to the Austrian police.

The Austrian traveled to the Philippines from 2017 to 2019 to meet the suspects and the minors, according to the non-government organization International Justice Mission (IJM).

The girls were rescued in an operation launched by the National Bureau of Investigation-Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD).

The rescue was conducted days after the commemoration of the third anniversary of the Philippine Internet Crimes against Children Center, a cooperation formed between the IJM and local and international law enforcement agencies.

NBI-AHTRAD chief Janet Francisco said the partnership among the Department of Social Welfare and Development, IJM and Austrian police made the rescue possible.

IJM Manila director Reynaldo Bicol Jr. commended the NBI and their law enforcement partners for rescuing the minors.