Thirteen minors who were forced to do disturbing sex shows via the internet were rescued by authorities Thursday in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said apart from those rescued, two sisters believed to be involved in the wicked online activity were also arrested.
Lavin identified the suspects as Elvie Aringo and Arlene Aringo who were nabbed by the NBI-Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-AHTRAD).
The two sisters will be charged in connection with Republic Act 7619, the Trafficking in Persons Act; and child pornography under RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
NBI Anti-Human Trafficking Division chief Janet Francisco disclosed that the operation against the two women stemmed from the intelligence information shared by the United States Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USHSI-ICE).
Francisco said that those rescued from the operation range from a two-month old baby up to an 18-year-old girl.
Among those rescued, the NBI official said five of them are children of the suspects.
Francisco said that the suspects have been using the children in “actual live sex show on cam and the sending pornographic materials” in exchange for $50 to $100 from foreigners online.
The NBI official added that some of their customers come to the Philippines to have sex with some of the children for the sum of at least P10,000.
Francisco lamented that “the children are really groomed to do this kind of thing.”
“Yun ang nakakatakot, nag-iiba na ang morality nung mga bata ngayon (It’s scary that the morality of the children are being warped),” said Francisco “It’s a cottage industry in some places.”
“We have identified additional areas this repulsive industry has been going on. Nearby provinces like Cavite, Pampanga, and others we also have Visayas and Mindanao. And its really scattered around the Philippines,” she cited.
(JEFF DAMICOG)