Department of Justice Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano met United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children Mama Fatima Singhateh yesterday to discuss concerns on the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

Clavano represented the department during a presentation in Cebu City.

He said the meeting discussed the local mechanisms for OSAEC cases, how and where reports are made, and who the focal persons are.

The DOJ also presented awareness programs for these local mechanisms and the challenges faced in case build-up and the filing  and prosecution of OSAEC cases.

Singahateh is in the Philippines until 8 December "to assess the situation and the progress made in combating and preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children in the light of international human rights norms and standards."

She is one of the three UN special rapporteurs who are coming to the country. The other two are Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had earlier said that among the three, Tidball-Binz was invited to visit the country. He also said that he himself had invited a third special rapporteur on EJKs, to increase capacity-building for the country's forensic pathologists.

"Tight now we only have two licensed, legal, legitimate and actually internationally accepted forensic pathologist in our country," said the Justice chief.