UN says child porn widespread in Philippines

UN says child porn widespread in Philippines

Stuart Grudgings, Reuters/Manila

Production of child pornography in the Philippines, often run by international syndicates, is far more widespread and systematic than previously thought, the head of the United Nations children's fund (Unicef) in the country said on Wednesday.

Early results from a study into the problem commissioned by Unicef show that authorities have underestimated the problem in the Southeast Asian country, Dr. Nicholas Alipui told Reuters.

"What we have are initial results that show the situation is very serious. The problem is real," he said.

"The way I would put it is that the problem is much more complex than people actually are aware of. By complex, I mean that it involves networks of individuals who are practicing these devious acts and have international connections."

Philippine police said they rescued about 70 children, some as young as five, from a child pornography ring when they raided a house south of Manila in early July.

Seven suspects, including a Japanese man, were arrested.

The government said on Wednesday it had been vigilant against the exploitation of children.

"Our law enforcers are on the ball through special units for the protection of children and women," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.

"We are addressing this problem but the cooperation of the parents and the local community is imperative."

Alipui said there were no figures yet available on the number of criminal groups and children involved.

But the initial study results, based on interviews with local communities throughout the country, suggested that the problem was much bigger than previously assumed.

Child pornography in the Philippines has not been as thoroughly investigated as it has in many other Southeast Asian countries, and this would likely be the first comprehensive study, he said.

Several factors have made the Philippines vulnerable to child pornographers, including poverty and public tolerance of prostitution, while advances in Internet technology have made images easier to spread.

Alipui said the government was doing everything it could to stamp out the problem, but that police may need to take a more pro-active response in breaking up pornography gangs rather than waiting for victims to come forward.

"When a child is engaged or involved in child pornography of a type that is digitalized and taken away in a camera and so on, you normally don't have the child coming to complain to the parents or to the police. You have no complainant," he said.

"It is clear we need a larger mobilization, we need to adopt different strategies to be able to combat this."