The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other members of the Inter-Agency Council Against Child Pornography (ICACP) leads the celebration of the Safer Internet Day Philippines (SIDPH) on February 13 with a virtual kickoff activity on February 9, 2021.

This is under the Presidential Proclamation No. 417 declaring the Second Tuesday of February of Every Year as a Safer Internet Day for Children.

The SIDPH is one of the strategies of the government, through ICACP, which creates public awareness on the need to ensure the protection of children from risks and abuses brought by misuse of cyberspace or lack of awareness on internet safety.

“Nowadays, the internet plays a major part of the society. It has a great influence on our everyday lives from getting information, communication, games and all,” said Rebecca P. Geamala, regional director of DSWD-7.

She said that people cannot deny the risks and dangers that come with the use of this technology. Cyberbullying, online pornography, hacking, and a lot more. One of the major threats is the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), which needs to be addressed.

This year’s theme “Bagong Normal: Ligtas na Internet for All!”, is in line with the year’s international theme “Together for Better Internet.” It is celebrated as a call to action to promote better and safer internet use for everyone especially for children and young people. It was introduced in 2004 in various countries in Europe and is currently being observed by more than 100 countries globally.

DSWD-7 together with partner stakeholders prepared a webinar in line with safe internet use for this month-long celebration. ###

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