PLDT seeks DOJ help in fighting online child abuse, trafficking

PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. want the Department of Justice (DOJ) to join their fight against online child abuse and human trafficking.

In a statement, PLDT first vice president and group communications head Catherine Yap-Yang said those cases were allied problems and PLDT has “taken the lead” in addressing the exploitation of children online.

In line with this, the group was prepared to assist the DOJ with timely information allowing the government to track perpetrators.

“As agents of change in the private sector, we’re here to help the government strengthen its efforts, through our Infocast SMS broadcast system,” Yap-Yang said.

“Smart Infocast has already reached 1.3 million Filipinos in almost 800 communities nationwide, and we’re keen on utilizing this tool to help stamp out online child abuse,” she added.

Justice Assistant Secretary-in-Charge of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) Nicholas Felix Ty said they were also prepared to assist the private sector.

“We are more than glad to take you up on the offer to work with the Department of Justice Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT). We hope our offices can coordinate to explore how we can cooperate in this fight against trafficking,” Ty said in the same statement.

According to PLDT, the Smart Infocast was launched in 2015 and has enabled interagency task force groups and local government units to send out text updates to officials and employees, health workers and barangay and police authorities.

In the last five quarters, Smart Infocast has been able to broadcast over 13 million official advisories, reminders and messages to schools, colleges and universities, local government units, cooperatives and government agencies across the country.