MANILA – Three cities in Northern Mindanao committed to come together to effectively fight online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), and the proliferation of Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM), by launching the Tri-City Justice Zone.
In a statement from the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, it said that the program is a first-of-its kind initiative, where justice sector institutions in the three cities will adopt a system of increased coordination and communication to better fight the evolving crime of OSAEC and CSAEM in the region.
Supported by the EU through Governance in Justice programme (GOJUST), the cities involved are Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and Ozamiz City.
The simultaneous launch of the Tri-City Justice Zone was led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin C. Abalos in venues located in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and Ozamiz.
The European Union was represented by Chargé d’ Affaires Ms. Ana Isabel Sánchez Ruiz.
In his remarks, Chief Justice Gesmundo illustrated the complexity of these crimes, involving both ever-changing technology and a “web of actors” that often include family members of the victim-survivors.
“We have been identified as a center of CSAEM production in the world. Based on some estimates, 80% of Filipino children are vulnerable to online sexual abuse—sometimes, through the facilitation of their own parents as well. Clearly, we cannot let this continue—and we will not allow it to continue,” Chief Justice Gesmundo said.
For his part, Sec. Abalos said reports that “the Philippines is the epicenter of [OSAEC and CSAEM],” were “painful to hear as a Filipino, it is hard for me to accept.”
He however added that Philippine authorities have “demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons” for many years, and enumerated several measures that the DILG has adopted to add greater resolve to the fight against OSAEC and CSAEM.
Photo courtesy of Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines (EU)
“The Tri-City Justice Zone shall strengthen this resolve to combat these crimes using all resources at our disposal,” added Secretary Remulla, while reminding the public of the role each can play in keeping Filipino youth safe.
“The fight against OSAEC and CSAEM, however, begets each of us, in our neighborhoods, schools, online spaces, and everything in between,” Remulla added.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ana Sanchez Ruiz, Charges d’ Affaires and Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, underlined the EU’s long-term support to the justice sector’s reform initiatives that improve access to justice for those most vulnerable.
“Combating sexual abuse and exploitation in all its forms, in this case, more specifically of children, is a shared priority of the European Union and of the Philippines,” Ruiz emphasized.
According to the EU, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Ozamiz now join the ranks of the other Justice Zones: Puerto Princesa, Dagupan, Quezon City, Cebu, Angeles, Davao, Bacolod, Naga, Calamba, Balanga, Baguio, and Zamboanga.
Established in 2014, Justice Zones are cities that are designed for close communication between justice sector actors like the courts, the police, jails, and civil society, to eliminate administrative bottlenecks and speed up the delivery of real-time justice for all.
Photo courtesy of Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines (EU)
The recently approved Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 has endorsed justice sector coordination as a way to improve the sector’s efficiency and accountability and to bring about sustainable reforms, the EU stated.
According to the PDP, 4 new justice zones will be launched every year during the Plan’s period, the EU added.
EU’s GOJUST programme is working with the Philippine Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to develop more responsive and accountable justice services in the country.
Through a grants facility, the Programme also works with universities and civil society organizations in improving access to justice for women, LGBTQI+, indigenous communities and other vulnerable groups, the EU statement read.
The EU also confirmed that the total grant has already reached EUR 19 million (Php 1.1 billion) over a period of four years, with an additional EUR 1 million (Php 59.47 million) to “strengthen the Commission on Human Rights to help it carry out its constitutional mandate of civil and political rights protection and enhance human rights promotion in the Philippines,” through the Spanish Agency of Development Cooperation (AECID).
