Press Release
November 13, 2007

REVILLA SETS ANTI-CHILD PORN HEARING

In his capacity as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla sets a senate probe on child pornography to address its continuing proliferation in various media, particularly in the internet and other high-tech forms of communication.

The senate inquiry is scheduled to be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, November 14) at the Senator Lorenzo Tañada room, Philippine Senate.

Among those invited by the committee regarding child pornography in the country are Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Chief Nestor Mantaring.

Also invited in the hearing are Coalition against Trafficking of Women in Asia Pacific Executive Director Jean Enriquez, Philippine Alliance Against Pornography President Cindy Dollente-Ang, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Chairman Ruperto Nicdao and Philippine Internet Services Organization President William Torres.

"Let's see what our resource persons can contribute so we can formulate an effective law to finally eradicate child pornography in the country, may it be child porn sites or other medium," said Revilla. The senator earlier expressed alarm after news reports that again ranked the Philippines second among the countries in Asia that hosts and patronizes cybersex and ranking the country fourth in child pornography.

Revilla bared anew that the Philippines ranked ninth in terms of worldwide pornography revenues last year with total earnings of one billion dollars, based on the report by the survey website www.TopTenReviews.com.

Senate Bill No. 12 or the "Anti Pornography Act", which was previously filed by Revilla as SB 1892 during the 13th Congress, will be among the bills to be tackled in the hearing. It aims to slap stiffer penalties against those who publish, broadcast and exhibit pornographic materials through the use of traditional media, the internet, the "cyberspace" cellular phones and other forms of media.

This includes internet chat, websites, e-mail and other technological advancements.

The Revilla bill also aims to supplement Republic Act (RA) 9208 otherwise known as "Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003."

The lawmaker lamented that the Philippines claims to be the only Christian country in Asia yet it is still on top when it comes to pornographic activities. "Under the Revised Penal Code, proliferation of pornographic materials via the internet and cellphones are not clearly punishable at present. Even if the perpetrators are prosecuted, the penalties are insignificant. Thus, they are not deterred from continuing to engage in such immoral and indecent activities," he said. Under SB 12, any person who shall cause the publication, broadcast, exhibition or selling of pornographic materials shall be punished with 12 to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of not less than two hundred fifty thousand pesos. Any person who helps in the commission of the crime will face 12 year imprisonment and fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos.

It could be recalled that Revilla called on law enforcement agencies and local governments to lock-up internet cafes in its jurisdiction that tolerate access to child pornography websites.

The lawmaker pointed out that internet technology exacerbates the production and distribution of child pornography due to the simple "upload-download" system of copying of materials.

"Owners of internet cafes should not only think about making profits but should also help the government on pursuing a child-friendly society. The advantage of the internet should not be abused to the extent of promoting child pornography just to earn money," he added.

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