A FINANCIAL incentive worth P20,000 awaits those who can provide the Municipal Government of Cordova with validated information on activities involving online sexual exploitation of children (Osec).
This, though, will have to wait until Ordinance 2019-39 takes effect.
The measure is an offshoot of the arrest of several online traffickers, on separate occasions, who were involved in child pornography in Cordova.
Authorities also found that some parents exploited their own children in exchange for money from pedophiles online.
Section 3 of the ordinance provides that a person who provides information on Osec in the town will receive P20,000 after validation of results in the apprehension of the perpetrator.
Under Section 4 of the legislation, all information, including but not limited to the identities of the informant, perpetrators and victims, will be strictly confidential and may be disclosed upon order of the court.
However, only information furnished to the Office of the Mayor, chairperson of the committee on children, head of the Municipal Social Welfare Development Office and the chief of police are qualified for validation.
The measure was approved by the Municipal Council on July 3, 2019 and signed by Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho.
The ordinance, though, is still pending review and comment from the Provincial Board.
As of July 1, 2019, 68 persons had been convicted in the Philippines for perpetrating Osec, insofar as cases supported by the International Justice Mission are concerned.
Osec is considered a “violent and global form” of human trafficking. It typically involves a foreign online predator from a western country, demanding sexually exploitative materials of children from Filipino online traffickers. (RTF)