By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The couple who were arrested for allegedly using their children for online sexual abuse and exploitation, are likely to spend their remaining lives in prison.

In an interview on 96.7 XFM Bacolod, legal counsel, Atty. Cesar Beloria said that online sexual abuse and exploitation is a serious charge.

Beloria explained it is likely that the parents will spend their remaining lives jailed.

Lt. Colonel Aladdin Dingal, officer-in-charge of the Women and Children’s Protection Center in Western Visayas, said the arrested suspects — 28-year-old Mary Rose Maribao Campaner and her live-in partner, 35-year-old Romy Librando Ligid — have been selling explicit images of their children online for over a year.

Dingal said they are currently trying to determine whether there are syndicates involved in the online child exploitation.

He added that the price for the explicit images depends on the suspects’ clients.

The four children — a nine-year-old girl, a six-year-old boy, and two-year-old twins — are now under the protection and care of Balay Silongan, a halfway house for abused children.

The minors were rescued from Purok Tumpok’s Espinos Village 2 in Bacolod City’s Barangay Taculing on Friday night, July 14.

The suspects are facing charges for violation of the Republic Act (RA) 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act), RA 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act), and RA 9975 (Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009).

Meanwhile, according to non-government organization Save the Children Philippines, cases of online sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the country increased by 264.6 percent or 202,605 during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March to May 2020.

Around 76,561 cases were reported during the same period in 2019, data from the United States-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children showed./DGB, WDJ