The Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted nearly ten times more operations against online sexual abuse or exploitation of children or OSAEC under the Marcos Jr. administration than in the three years prior, rescuing almost 1,000 victim-survivors and filing hundreds of cases in court as part of its most aggressive enforcement effort in Philippine history.
DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty made the disclosure in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on July 11, as part of the “The DZRH SONA 2026 Series,” presenting figures that show a dramatic acceleration in the government’s fight against one of the most serious crimes affecting Filipino children.
From July 2022 to March 2026, the DOJ’s Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking conducted 570 OSAEC operations, compared to just 58 operations in the entire period from 2019 to 2021 under the previous administration, a nearly 10-fold increase in a shorter span of time.
“Kung titingnan po natin ang ating mga numero, malinaw na malinaw na ang intensyon ng administrasyon na talaga namang labanan ang OSAEC. Hindi lang bilang ng operasyon, ang bilang ng mga bata at biktima na nailigtas, ‘yun ang sukatan ng ating tagumpay,” Undersecretary Ty said.
The 570 operations conducted under the current administration resulted in the rescue of 988 victim-survivors, the arrest of 313 subjects, and the filing of 386 cases in court, compared to 577 rescued, 212 arrested, and 210 cases filed in 2019-2021.
Undersecretary Ty said OSAEC cases are particularly difficult to prosecute because perpetrators often operate anonymously online, across jurisdictions, and with the use of encrypted communications, making the surge in successful operations and convictions all the more significant.
He said the DOJ has also pushed OSAEC awareness and prevention to the barangay level, with over 1,010 local government units across the country now having enacted their own Anti-OSAEC ordinances, creating a community-level legal framework that complements national enforcement efforts.
Undersecretary Ty said the conviction of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo on qualified human trafficking charges, linked to a POGO-based scam and exploitation network, is the clearest proof that OSAEC enforcement under the current administration reaches even the most politically powerful offenders, and that no level of public office or private influence can shield perpetrators from prosecution.
