AN ORDINANCE prohibiting online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (Osaec) and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM) in Cebu City was approved by the City Council.
The measure passed on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, aims to protect children against the ill effects of internet use and prevent online abuse and sexual exploitation.
Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, the ordinance’s author, said on Wednesday that the measure aims to strengthen the City’s fight against Osaec-CSAEM amid the rise of digital platforms.
Numbered as City Ordinance 2767 and titled the Anti-Osaec Ordinance, Cuenco explained that it aims to localize the efforts enforced by overarching laws, such as Republic Act (RA) 11930, or the Anti-Online Abuse and Exploitation of Children Law, and RA 11862, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022.
“By doing so, Cebu City reaffirms its commitment to protecting children and creating a safer environment for all of them,” he said.
City Ordinance 2767 prohibits accessing, possessing, producing and/or distributing images and videos of online child sexual abuse material. It also includes prohibition of grooming of children for sexual purposes.
The ordinance defines grooming as a predatory act of establishing a relationship of trust or emotional connection by another with a child whether in person or via electronic device for the purpose of perpetrating sexual abuse
or exploitation.
Moreover, the ordinance prohibits live streaming of sexual abuse of children, sextortion and other unlawful or prohibited acts provided under RA 9775, or the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, RA 11862
and RA 11930.
The ordinance also poses the responsibility of mall owners and other business establishments to notify the Cebu City Police Office or the National Bureau of Investigation and the Cebu City Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking within 48 hours of obtaining facts and circumstances that child sexual abuse or exploitation is being done.
Accommodation providers are also covered in this ordinance, stating that suspicious bookings involving frequent short-stay reservations with minors by a single adult guest without a valid reason and guests refusing to provide identification shall also be reported.
Section 9 of the ordinance mandates the Department of Social Welfare Services to ensure child victims of sexual abuse or exploitation with appropriate care, custody and support for their recovery.
Emergency shelter or appropriate housing, alternative family-based care, counseling, free legal services, medical and psychological services, livelihood and skills training, educational assistance and support services are provided. / JPS