A child rights group has expressed support for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to end Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (CSAEM).

This after Marcos ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Philippine National Police (PNP) to intensify monitoring, citing the rising number of cases related to OSAEC and CSAEM which had become a lucrative business in the Philippines.

Marcos also called on the Department of Justice and the PNP to go after child pornography predators.

The Philippines currently ranks second in the world, after India, in terms of the number of cases of child exploitation online, according to Save the Children Philippines (SCP).

SCP said there have been reports of online sexual abuse and exploitation of babies as young as three months old.

“They come from impoverished communities and live with their relatives, who are desperate for money,” SCP noted.

“Parents, relatives, and neighbors force these children to perform sexual acts in front of a camera,” it added.

About 86 percent of OSAEC-CSAEM cases involving children are female, ranging from 11 years old to as young as one year old.

“We stand in unity with the President and the nation in combating this silent pandemic that has harmed and stolen the futures of Filipino children,” SCP continued.

According to the National Baseline Study on Violence Against Children, approximately one in every two children has experienced violence. With 41 percent of facilitators being biological parents and 42 percent being relatives.

SCP also vowed to intensify its work on localizing the OSAEC-CSAEM Law and contribute to further advocacy for child protection from any form of violence at all levels.

“We are convinced that prevention should begin at home, in schools, and in communities.”