COMMUNITY | PLDT, Smart back PCTO’s pledge to support national govt’s child online protection strategy
The Philippines’ leading fully integrated telecommunications company PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) are affirming their support to the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators (PCTO) as the industry association commits to cooperate with the government’s whole-of-nation approach to combating online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).
This commitment follows the recently concluded “National Summit on Child Online Protection and Responsible Digital Industry Engagement”, organized by Terre des Hommes Netherlands in the Philippines (TdH NL), through its Project Creating a safer Online Environment for Every Child (CONEC), with support from the European Union, and co-presented by the National Coordination Center Against Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM), National Telecommunications Commission, and PCTO.
The summit convened government agencies, telecommunication companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content platforms, youth representatives, and civil society organizations to align strategies on implementing Republic Act (RA) 11930 or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Law, and to strengthen collaboration toward a safer online environment for Filipino children.
The PCTO, which includes PLDT and Smart as among its member companies, recognized the important role of telcos in the nationwide effort to protect children.
PCTO Chairman Enrico delos Reyes acknowledged during the summit that while the telco industry drives the country’s digital advancement, the Internet is also being exploited to harm children, including through OSAEC.
“As these things happen, we at PCTO are not bystanders. We carry all these with great sorrow and with great concern, and with an even greater resolve to act,” said delos Reyes. He then expressed the telco industry’s firm commitment to support the government in combating online child abuse and cited concrete efforts by its chamber members to protect children.
Aligning with the PCTO, PLDT and Smart participated in one of the summit’s panel sessions through Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios.
Joining representatives from the Department of Justice, Council for the Welfare of Children, and TdH NL in the panel, Vergel de Dios highlighted PLDT and Smart’s child protection advocacy, policies, technology solutions, and community engagement programs for OSAEC prevention and response.
From June 2021 to end March 2026, PLDT and Smart have already blocked over 2.1 million URLs linked to OSAEC. The Group has also prevented more than 208,000 attempts to access CSAEM from January to March 2026. PLDT and Smart have also been cooperating with relevant government agencies on the investigation and prosecution of OSAEC cases, and with the Council for the Welfare of Children for the reporting of child rights violations through the MAKABATA Helpline 1383.
Beyond these, Vergel de Dios shared how PLDT and Smart have been deepening engagements with their own business units and with children themselves. “We aim to use our brands and our services to amplify our efforts and deliver our message on child protection even more strongly,” she said.
PLDT and Smart’s efforts have also been recently validated further by the results of their consultations with children, which have been undertaken in collaboration with TdH NL and other child rights organizations. According to Vergel de Dios, cybersecurity and data privacy emerged as among issues most important to young people.
As the summit was reinforced by actionable recommendations on child safety by the youth sector, addressed to ISPs through Project CONEC’s Youth Advisory Group, Smart Senior Manager for Regulatory Affairs Atty. Kenneth Reganon delivered a manifestation that affirmed PLDT and Smart’s continuing co-championship of youth participation.
“We commit to always recognize the agency of children and the youth in shaping and co-creating solutions that impact them. Children’s participation will continue to be at the heart of our efforts, and we look forward to working with our esteemed child rights partners to realize this,” said Reganon.
Underpinning these efforts is PLDT and Smart’s sustained engagement with PCTO to ensure the active participation of ISPs in congressional hearings, public consultations, and multi-sectoral fora aimed at shaping legislation and national strategies against OSAEC. These collaborative engagements have contributed to landmark legislation, including RA 11930, and RA 11862 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022.
