Children play at the Rajah Sulayman Park in Malate, Manila on October 19, 2021. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — The Senate on Wednesday ratified the Bicameral Conference Committee report on the bill seeking to strengthen protections against online and technology-facilitated sexual abuse and exploitation of children, as well as child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
“I am pleased to report that the Senate and the House were substantially aligned on the fundamental direction of this measure: that our laws must keep pace with the ways children are now harmed, groomed, exploited, and recruited through technology,” the bill’s author Senator Risa Hontiveros said during the plenary session.
Under the Senate Bill No. 1819, or the SAGIP BATA Act, was given a new title and renamed the BATANG LIGTAS Act.
READ: Senate passes SAGIP BATA Act on third and final reading
“Because of the former title SAGIP BATA suggests external saving, while BATANG LIGTAS also encompasses a child exercising his or her own agency and keeping himself or herself safe,” Hontiveros explained.
“Ang batas ligtas ay batang masaya,” she added.
Hontiveros said both chambers agreed to retain much of the measure’s original framework, while introducing several clarifications. These include the reconstitution of the National Child Safety Office and the institutionalization of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center.
The House also proposed a provision directing the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development to develop programs for children victimized by online recruitment or inducement to engage in serious violent activity.
“Where a child dies as a result of such an offense, appropriate assistance may likewise be extended to the child’s family,” Hontiveros added
Other refinements incorporated into the measure include provisions on administrative fines, financial holding mechanisms, safeguards for undercover operations, and procedures for handling digital information.