The Philippines is the second country with the highest number of cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) in the world, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) confirmed.
During the budget hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, CICC Deputy Executive Director Asec. Mary Rose Magsaysay disclosed that the Philippines is second when it comes to high cases of OSAEC after India.
Being the second country in the world where online sexual abuse of young people is rampant reflects that other countries view Filipinos as "unethical" when it comes to using the internet.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin 'Win' Gatchalian was surprised surpiresed about the ranking with regards to OSAEC, despite the Philippines being a developing nation and the fact that there are many poorer countries.
Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy admitted that one of the reasons is poverty in the country and a lack of equipment to strengthen cybersecurity and identify online predators.
Magsaysay added that the United Nations (UN) identified the Philippines as a "hotbed" or nest of online scamming that he said hides in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
