Following the successful celebration of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Month in July, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas reaffirms its commitment to fight against trafficking by advocating for responsible internet use.
Safer Internet Day (SID) is celebrated globally in February every year to promote the safe and positive use of digital technologies for children and young people and inspire a national conversation on issues and the safety of internet use.
In the Philippines, the celebration is supported by Presidential Proclamation No. 417, which declares the second Tuesday of February as the “Safer Internet Day for Children in the Philippines.”
The proclamation directed DSWD and other national government agencies to promote the observance of SID by popularizing advocacy and raising awareness of the dangers of the internet, especially to children.
In particular, the celebration carries a local theme, “OSAEC at CSAEM Ating Sugpuin, Implementasyon ng RA 11930 Sama-samang Patatagin,” which aims to advocate the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) law.
DSWD 7 calls upon stakeholders to join together in helping create a better internet community for all by strengthening reporting mechanisms in the community, identifying red flags, and promoting the law.
Regional Director Shalaine Marie S. Lucero, who co-chairs the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking: Violence Against Women and Children (IACAT7-VAWC), shared that the Department remains committed to eliminating OSAEC in the region by employing several advocacy activities.
“It should be observed not only every February but throughout the year. It should be a way of life for all of us because we already know the dangers of the internet and the unlimited possibilities of exploiting vulnerable individuals like our children,” she said.
From 2021 to 2024, DSWD provided the necessary interventions to the reported 99 cases of OSAEC. Annual breakdowns are as follows: 2021 (29), 2022 (25), 2023 (29), and 2024 (16).
In Region 7, the IACAT7-VAWC holds a series of information caravans in schools in highly urbanized areas of Cebu province, where there are several cases of OSAEC, targeting junior and senior high school students.
Young individuals were taught with practical tips in using social media, identifying red flags, where to seek help and how to report cases, the different cybercrime dangers on the internet, and digital hygiene and parenting with resource persons from other government agencies and non-government organizations.
Other plans include media advocacies, forums with community leaders, and online discussions together with the Department of Justice, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center-Visayas Field Unit (PNP-WCPC-VFU), and World Hope International.
Lucero said that the Department is exploring tapping the parents’ and teachers’ associations in public schools to share information about the advocacy and injecting the family development sessions of 4Ps beneficiaries. ###
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