COMMUNITY | PLDT-led PROTECTA Pilipinas seeks stronger child online protection laws
Moderated by PLDT and Smart Public Engagement Group Head Roby Alampay, the forum also highlighted the need to balance child protection measures with rights, due process and privacy.
Representatives from government, law enforcement, telecommunications, education and the private sector called for stronger legal frameworks and coordinated measures to protect children from online violence and exploitation during a forum led by PROTECTA Pilipinas.
Atty. Roy D. Ibay, Smart vice president and head of regulatory affairs and lead convenor of PROTECTA Pilipinas, said protecting children should form part of broader efforts to strengthen digital resilience.
“Protecting the connectivity that Filipinos depend on includes protecting the people, especially the children, who rely on that connectivity every single day. When we talk about infrastructure resilience, we usually think of disasters, cable theft and cyberattacks. But another kind of resilience we must build is resilience against the exploitation of the children who use these networks to learn, play, and connect with the world,” Ibay said.
He called for expanded reporting and coordination mechanisms, consistent adoption of anti-child online exploitation platforms and tools, and the inclusion of fintech companies in efforts to address online exploitation. He also emphasized the need for stronger legal frameworks to protect children in the digital environment.
“No single actor can secure our digital ecosystem alone. Protecting Filipino children online will take government, industry, civil society, and communities working as one alliance,” Ibay said.
Among the other speakers were PLDT Chief Operating Officer Menardo G. Jimenez Jr., Undersecretary Angelo Tapales of the Council for the Welfare of Children, Assistant Secretary Alvin Navarro of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, and Lt. Col. Ayn Natuel of the PNP Women and Children Protection Center.
Also on the panel were Frances Kristine Canon of Creative Learning Paths School, Karlos Naidas of Pixel for Creators, and Dr. Joan Mae Rifareal, immediate past president of the Philippine Psychiatric Association.
Tapales said online child protection should primarily be treated as a child rights issue. He said children should be protected from harmful content, abuse and exploitation while retaining their rights to access technology, information and education, as well as to participate, express themselves, maintain privacy and develop.
“The objective should not be to keep children away from technology, but to ensure that they can access and participate in the digital environment safely, meaningfully, and in an age-appropriate manner,” Tapales said. “Children should not have to choose between being connected and being safe. Our responsibility is to make the digital environment safer for every child.”
Moderated by PLDT and Smart Public Engagement Group Head Roby Alampay, the forum also highlighted the need to balance child protection measures with rights, due process and privacy.
Participants noted that the Philippines already has laws, protocols, reporting mechanisms and multi-stakeholder initiatives addressing online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM). They said emerging forms of online violence and harmful digital communities require these mechanisms to be expanded and adapted.
Jimenez said the forum could help telecommunications companies determine how existing controls can be used to better safeguard children.
“Telcos have a moral responsibility to our people, especially the children. This forum is important to us because we need clear guidance to know when and how we’re going to shut down these evil platforms,” Jimenez said. “We’re not talking about numbers here. We don’t need a million kids groomed before we do something. All it takes is one kid, because that can be your kid. Telcos are not here to play god. We’re here to protect kids being brainwashed and directed to commit hideous acts.”
PROTECTA Pilipinas, spearheaded by PLDT, is a multi-stakeholder alliance involving government, industry and communities focused on cyber resilience, critical infrastructure protection and a safer digital environment.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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