As they continue to strengthen their network and expand connectivity in the country’s largest and most populated city, PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) expressed support for Quezon City (QC) in its bid to protect children in the digital space and clamp down on local cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).
QC’s fight against OSAEC
In its enacted ordinance against OSAEC, QC recognizes the Internet as a ‘positive catalyst for innovation, education, and economic growth’. The city government however recognizes that the digital space is also an enabling environment for perpetuators who harm children by producing, accessing, and sharing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials (CSAEM).
During her speech at the QC Council’s Children’s Summit in November 2024 that marked celebration of the Children’s Month, QC Mayor Joy Belmonte affirmed the necessity and significance of Internet access among the present generation of children in the city but also raised the need to address pressing issues on their safety online.
According to the local chief executive, there were twelve recorded cases of OSAEC in the city. “This number could be higher though as there could be unreported cases, as high as thousands, based on our consultations with human rights non-governmental organization International Justice Mission,” she added.
Belmonte thus declared QC’s vision to be the “Anti-OSAEC Capital of the Philippines”, as she promoted awareness on the QC Helpline 122 for the reporting of child abuse cases and called on various stakeholders to support the city government in its measures to protect children and spearhead localized efforts to enforce the Republic Act 11930 or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Law.
Host with panelists Ginno Corral of ECPAT Philippines, Online Influencer Teacher Lyqa Maravilla, Melissa Vergel de Dios of PLDT and Smart, and Carlo Santos of Globe Telecom
Recognizing these measures by the QC government and their significant impacts on Internet-using children, PLDT and Smart Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios articulated that the telcos in parallel have made it their business to protect children from online harm.
“We at PLDT and Smart have taken a stand to integrate child rights in the way we operate and invested in technology solutions and platforms that keep our users, especially children, safe online.”, shared Vergel de Dios in her talk at the QC Council’s Children’s Summit with representatives from the local government and children community.
Through their industry-leading child protection platform, PLDT and Smart have blocked more than 1.6 million URLs and online content linked to OSAEC from June 2021 to end-December 2024. During the year, the telcos have also prevented more than 1 million attempts to access OSAEC URLs and contents.
PLDT and Smart’s efforts to protect children in QC
Beyond technology solutions, PLDT and Smart have been lending technical expertise with the QC Council for the continuous enhancements of ordinances and community-based approaches to promoting child protection and Internet safety in the city.
PLDT and Smart have also been supporting the QC government in strengthening measures to fight OSAEC in grassroots communities through a multi-year collaboration with Kids for Kids PH and the SaferKidsPH consortium program of UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Asia Foundation.
Through this collaboration, the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) units of Barangays Gulod, Sta. Monica, and Pasong Tamo in QC have received technology support and trainings on case management for OSAEC prevention, reporting, response, and rehabilitation.
As a result, these QC barangays have developed plans to allocate appropriate funding for measures to better combat OSAEC in their communities. These barangays have also reported marked improvements in their reporting confidentiality protocols and established child and psychological safety measures during case handling and service delivery of BCPC personnel.
With the support of PLDT and Smart, the SaferKidsPH program also facilitated awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns for students, teachers, and parents in QC, which resulted in an increase in community-based reporting of OSAEC cases and other concerns related to child rights violations.
In addition, PLDT and Smart have worked with SaferKidsPH in conducting materiality assessment and consultations with children in QC, as part of continuing efforts to identify and manage business impact on children in communities.
“Parallel to enabling QC’s digitalization – both on the level of its city government and on the daily life of its citizens, PLDT and Smart remain supportive of efforts to make the Internet safer and better for our children, and for the larger community”, said Vergel de Dios.
These PLDT and Smart’s measures to support local government units and NGOs in protecting children from online abuses are part of their human rights risk management measures and continuous support to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16 on Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions and Goal 17 on Partnerships for the Goals.
