The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is calling on Facebook to take down online pages engaged in the illegal selling of babies, following the arrest of a mother, who tried to peddle her eight-day-old baby using an FB account.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said May 20 that the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), an attached agency of the DSWD, has been asking Facebook to take down the pages engaged in the criminal activity of selling babies online, in the guise of adoption, but the social media provider has, so far, failed to act on the NACC’s request.
“That’s why we called for this presscon because, maybe through the media ay makalampag ang Facebook na yung unregulated freedom sa Facebook should come with responsibilities na obviously, may mga bagay na klarong-klarong mali,” Gatchalian told reporters, pointing to the fact that the NACC letter to FB last year has remained unanswered.
He said social media is a powerful tool, if put to good use. “But it can also be a very cruel tool, especially when it is being used for human trafficking, which is a cruel act. It’s cruel, and abusive.”
“Ang panawagan namin sa publiko is help us report kung may nakita kayo. At the same time, we will continue engaging Facebook. So that we can regulate to some degree the utilization of their platform,” Gatchalian stressed in a press release.
The selling of babies is illegal under Republic Act 9208, as amended by RA 10346, and further amended by RA 11862, or the Anti-Trafficking in Person Act of 2023, which provides for a penalty ranging from 12 years to life imprisonment, and a fine from P1 million to P5 million.
NACC executive director, Undersecretary Janella Estrada, said her agency has been closely monitoring between 20 to 40 Facebook pages engaged in baby and child trafficking.
“These FB pages are private accounts with thousands of followers. These social media sites are selling babies online in the guise of adoption. Since February, we have been coordinating with the PNP to put a stop to this illegal activity,” Estrada said.
The inaction of Facebook on the NACC’s letter-request may have something to do with the absence of a law that prohibits the online selling of babies, unlike online child prostitution and exploitation, which is covered by RA 11930, or the Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act, which also penalizes online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC).
OSAEC is defined as “the use of ICT (information and communications technology) as a means to abuse and/or exploit children sexually, which includes cases in which offline child abuse and/or exploitation is combined with an online component. ||
