Arroyo wants to intensify crackdown on cybersex

MANILA: Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday ordered police to intensify their crackdown on operators of pornographic Internet sites in the country.

Arroyo also appealed to the public to report to police suspicious cybercafes that might be used as fronts for cybersex operations.

“Keep the momentum of your new aggressive drive against cybersex dens,” she told thousands of policemen at the 14th founding anniversary of the Philippine National Police.

“I call on our people to report to your nearest police stations, operations that taint the image of our women and threaten the morals of people across the world,” she added.

Arroyo made the call following successive raids of police and other law enforcement agencies on various establishments here and in nearby provinces that operated pornographic websites.

In the latest raid on Jan 21, police rescued more than 30 girls as young as 14 years old from an apartment in Manila’s suburban city of Las Pinas, which was the hub of a pornographic Internet site.

According to police, the girls performed live sexual acts in front of video cameras to satisfy customers sitting in front of computers anywhere around the globe for a fee of at least US$1.50 (RM5.70) per minute. – dpa