Manila: Senator Loren Legarda is pushing for the passage of the proposed Expanded Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act to strengthen safeguards against evolving forms of child exploitation in digital spaces.

According to Philippines News Agency, in her co-sponsorship speech in the Senate plenary on Tuesday afternoon, Legarda recalled how she was already documenting the horrors of human trafficking during her days as a young journalist in the 1970s and 1980s, showing that trafficking was already a global scourge even before the rise of today's digital technologies.

Legarda emphasized that long before she entered public service, she witnessed how syndicates prey on vulnerability and poverty, silencing victims through fear, shame, and coercion. Through their stories, she learned that perpetrators adapt with technology, hiding behind new fronts and exploiting every gap in law, coordination, and institutional delays.

She highlighted that abusers have adapted to encrypted platforms, digital payment channels, and cross-border hosting services. The harm is no longer confined to a specific place; it is recorded, replicated, and traded, leaving a digital footprint that follows a child for life.

The proposed amendments to Republic Act 11930, or the Anti-OSAEC and Anti-CSAEM Act, aim to improve coordination among agencies, impose greater accountability on platforms operating in or reaching the Philippines, and equip authorities to secure and use digital evidence to identify victims, build cases, and collaborate with foreign partners.

Legarda stated that the measure reinforces enforcement by setting firmer accountability standards and ensuring consistent child protection, moving towards a more reliable system. She asserted that the proposed Expanded Anti-Online OSAEC and CSAEM Act is necessary to keep laws responsive to evolving technology and cross-border criminality.

In supporting this measure, she affirmed that the Philippines will not allow digital spaces, financial channels, or jurisdictional distance to become safe havens for those who profit from the abuse of children.