The Philippines’ poor standing in the global response to child sexual violence has renewed calls for the immediate passage of a stronger Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) law, amid growing concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in child abuse materials.
The country ranked 15th in a global index measuring responses to child sexual violence, a result child protection advocates described as insufficient given the Philippines’ long-standing status as one of the world’s major hotspots for OSAEC.
“Ranking 15th in the global index on child sexual violence response is certainly not satisfactory. Hindi ito sapat. Hindi pwedeng nag-na-number two tayo bilang global hotspot ng online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, pero sa pag-responde ay ganito kababa,” Senator Risa Hontiveros said.
The proposed strengthened Anti-OSAEC Law seeks to address emerging forms of abuse, including AI-generated child sexual abuse material and the sexual or sadistic extortion of children, which would be penalized for the first time under the measure.
The bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives and is now at the period of amendments in the Senate, one of the final stages before approval.
The veteran legislator said the measure has become even more urgent as rapidly evolving technology creates new risks for children and gives offenders more tools to exploit victims.
“We need to ensure that rapidly changing technologies, especially AI-generated abuse material, cannot be weaponized against our children. On top of this, sexual and sadistic extortion of children is a disturbing new trend that the bill penalizes for the first time,” she said.
Despite the bill’s progress, its movement in the Senate has been stalled after the chairpersonship of the Committee on Women and Children was declared vacant.
She urged Senate leaders to prioritize the measure, saying lawmakers should focus on urgent issues affecting children instead of spending time on procedural debates such as videoconferencing rules.
“Kami dito sa Senado, dapat nating tigilan ang pag-aaksaya ng panahon sa usapin ng videoconferencing ng mga Senador, at tutukan na ang mga mahahalaga at totoong isyu, tulad ng pag-aabuso sa ating mga bata,” she said.
The appeal comes as the country continues to face pressure to strengthen prevention, investigation, prosecution, and victim protection mechanisms against online child sexual abuse.