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NOVOTEL, Quezon City, May 15, 2026 (SDN) — “Together, let us build a digital world where our children are free to explore, learn, connect, and achieve their dreams.”
This urgent call was made in today’s “National ISP Summit on Child Online Protection and Responsible Digital Industry Engagement” here in the city organized by Terre des Hommes (TdH) Netherlands through Project CONEC and in partnership with various government agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs), and the private sector.
TdH Netherlands, which has an office in the Philippines, is an international non-government organization (NGO) committed to stopping all forms of child exploitation.
Enrico Delos Reyes, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO), as well as other advocates of children’s welfare, made the urgent call as Filipino kids continue to fall victims to exploitation and other abuses on cyberspace.
PCTO is made up of the country’s major telecommunication firms formed to address industry-wide concerns, including in the digital realm.
In his address at the summit, he pointed out about a continuing battle against exploitation and sexual abuses of children, saying “we acknowledge that the battle against OSAEC is far from over.”
A speaker form TdH showed in her presentation that based on 2020 figures “1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys have been victims of sexual exploitation or abuse before reaching the age of 18.”
On the labor sector, the 2020 figures revealed that “160 million children worldwide, roughly 63 million girls, 97 million boys were exploited for labor.”
The summit was described as “a high-level national dialogue bringing together leaders from government agencies, telecommunications companies, internet service providers (ISPs), social media and technology platforms, CSOs, media, child rights advocates, and youth leaders to strengthen collective action against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC).”
Delos Reyes noted how the Department of Justice (DOJ) branded fighting OSAEC as “a battle for the future of the nation.”
On the other hand, the PCTO chairman, amplifying the DOJ’s characterization, described it as “a battle for our daughters and sons, for our children, and our children’s children. Every image, every live-streamed content, every act of exploitation wounds the soul of the nation.”
He assured that the more than one hundred participants of the summit that PCTO is not a bystander, that they at the group feel the burden. “We carry all these great sorrow, and with an even greater resolve to act.”
Attorney Barbara Mae D. Flores, officer-in-charge (OIC) executive director of the National Coordination Center (NCC) against OSAEC and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM), assured her agency’s strong solidarity with this initiative and with its call for safer digital spaces for all Filipino children.
“We all know this already, but it bears repeating: the internet is no longer separate from children’s lives. It is where they learn, play, communicate, express themselves, and build relationships,” the NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM official points out in her Solidarity Message at the event.
“But it is also where many of them are exposed to grooming, sexual exploitation, image-based abuse, harmful content, manipulation, and now, AI (artificial intelligence)-enabled risks such as deepfakes and the misuse or sexualization of children’s images.”
Response to the problem, she indicated, should be fast, with continuity. “It cannot be limited to after-the-fact rescue, investigation, and prosecution.”
She added that because it’s on digital environment where children are being harmed, if follows that protection must be built into cyberspace, pointing out that Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11390 provides a stronger legal framework in the fight against OSAEC and CSAEM.
A quick look on cyberspace shows R.A. No. 11930, otherwise known as the “Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act” of 2022 provides the muscle for the protections against exploitation of children as it “penalizes the production, distribution, possession, and access of child sexual abuse materials (CSAEM) and online sexual abuse.” (Supreme Court Library via AI Overview)
Flores noted that R.A. No. 11930 recognized online child protection has many aspects, and not is not limited to law enforcement. “It is also a governance issue, a regulatory issue, a child protection issue, a technology issue, and a shared accountability issue.”
At the same time, the NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM official emphasized that even if a law is strong, its implementation makes the difference, and that it needs a whole-of-society response acting as one.
“And implementation requires all of us. Government must lead. We must set the direction, establish standards, strengthen coordination, and ensure accountability. But government cannot do this alone. We need the cooperation of internet service providers, telecommunications companies, technology platforms, financial intermediaries, civil society organizations, communities, families, and children themselves,” Flores stresses.
“The truth is simple: no single office, no single agency, and no single sector can protect children online on its own. At the NCC, our role is to help bring the system together.”
Delos Reyes noted how Filipinos have been witnesses to rapid evolution of technology transforming the lives of Filipinos.
“In the same breath, however, we recognize that the advancement of digital technology comes with a myriad of risks, most unfortunately to our youngest citizens. We acknowledge how the internet is also being used to harm our children — the worst being online sexual abuse or exploitation of children or, OSAEC,” the PCTO chairman says.
Citing R.A. No. 11930, he assured PCTO’s commitment as strong partners in laws crafted for child protection as “our members have been investing in child protection technology, cybersecurity solutions, and strategic partnerships that enable detection and blocking of child sexual abuse and exploitation ma terials traversing through our networks. We also remain committed in supporting law enforcement, in pursuit of investigation, prosecution, and reporting OSAEC cases.”
The PCTO official acknowledged technology’s limitations in solving the child-related crisis online and, that, because of this, members of the organization are working with local government units (LGUs) and civil society to help bring awareness and education programs to the grassroots communities by teaching children recognize danger, guiding parents on how they can protect their families in cyberspace, as well as empowering the youth to make a difference.
Flores said, though, that AI’s continuing advancement makes the battle against OSAEC “more challenging to address.”
“But we shall remain steadfast in working wit all of you to foster a safer, and better digital environment for our children. Using our technology, our networks, and our industry voice, we continue to join all of you in the fight against OSAEC,” he assures. — EDD K. USMAN (/)
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To be updated.
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (®)