Battling the ‘curse’

In the article “Curse of Cybersex: The Lost Children of Cebu” posted on the People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance (Preda) Foundation website in 2014, Cordova is mentioned as a city, perhaps because the author, Katrin Kunt, is not that familiar with Mactan island (which has both Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town). But there was no denying the truth of what she was writing about: the proliferation of cybersex cases in Cordova.

That was in 2014. In 2015 and 2016, Cordova would still burst out from time to time in the news with incidents of poor people nabbed for engaging in cybersex business. Both the Provincial Government and the municipality of Cordova, together with law enforcers and some non-government organizations focused on funding ways to solve the problem. There was a lull until the recent arrest.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) Women and Children Protection Center nabbed in Barangay Ibabao, cordova a mother who was allegedly engaged in cybersex activities exploiting children, including her daughter. Ibabao also figured in the Preda foundation article, mentioned for the discovery there of cybersex activities and because of its “stable” internet connection.

“The problem,” the article noted, “is a product of unusual confluence of poverty and an excellent digital infrastructure that is especially pronounced in southeast Asia.”

In response, Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho announced a plan to battle the cybersex business in her town: give a reward of P20,000 or more for those who can provide information of anybody engaged in the cybersex business. This would be added to the existing measure on the strict monitoring of money transfer activities in the town. The payment scheme in the said business involves money transfer.

The recent incident shows that there is still a long way to go in terms of dealing with the cybersex not only in Cordova but also in other areas of Cebu. There should be a better way of eradicating the menace, and this should be the work not only of the Municipality of Cordova but also the other local government units, law enforcement units and NGO’s in Cebu working together.