Sextortion in the Philippines With Mariana Van Zeller

National Geographic's television show Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana Van Zeller features the host traveling around the world documenting the dark underbelly of society. In season 4 episode 2 Mariana investigates sextortion. The trail leads her to the Philippines.

The program begins in Utah where Mariana discusses the case of a teenager named Jake. He was contacted on Facebook by a beautiful woman.  But she did not want to play unless he sent her a full body nude picture. He saved their conversation which went as follows:

Scammer: Take a full body nude photo and then we can play.  

Jake: How do I know I cont trust you?  

Scammer: We are just going to play no need for trust issues. 

Of course the scammer immediately threatens to send his picture to all his friends and family unless he wires money. Jake begs them to stop but they refuse. Jake then kills himself. 

But thankfully he saved all the messages and in his suicide note he told his mom to check the messages so she can find the address to where he wired money. It is the Philippines. 

Mariana Van Zeller hopes to track down Jake's extortionist who is using the name Mariz Abril. She meets a contact, a journalist who investigates cybercrime. He describes sextortion as: 

This is a calling, a passion this is no easy job. Becasue it's risky, really risky. 

Mariana asks her contact:

Why is the Philippines such a center of sextortion?

He says:

First thing, we're an English speaking country. They are familiar on how to befriend to build the trust and relationship to their victims. Number two, they can easily work without authorities noticing them. 

She then makes her way to Angeles City and talks to a trans dancer named Yumi. 

Yumi turned to scamming during the pandemic. She befriended an older German man online. When he suggested they get sexy she started recording. Yumi then threatened to send the video to his wife and son if he did not send money. He sent the money but not everyone has though she has not followed through on her threats to spread the photos and videos.

Mariana then follows the trail to Bulacan where she speaks with "Claudia." She is not a lone wolf but works as a scammer in a large organization with cubicles and management. This is where she segues into talking about the Queen of Sextortion, Maria Caparas.

On her hunt for Maria she talks with a man named Jamie who worked for her. 

Before the pandemic he participated in transsexual pageants for money. During the lockdown he turned to sextortion. 

During the pandemic I didn’t have a heart because at that time I did not have savings. I had absolutely no money. I was really super evil. That’s how I was. I didn’t have a heart for them. Even if you would die in front of me, I wouldn’t care as long as I get what I want.

It was Maria Cabereras who taught him the sextortion racket. 

Someone came to our place. A woman. This Woman was very rich. She became like a mother to us, a “madam.” She was the one who taught us how to do the scam. 

Mariana Van Zeller then drives to North Hill hoping to find Maria Caparas. Before setting out she talks to a man named "Peter" who is a government official who has "witnessed the corruptive power of the sextortion industry first-hand."

Mariana: You don’t want your face shown.

Peter: The far reach of the criminal syndicates can be very…how would you put it? 

Mariana: Dangerous? 

Peter: Mhmm. Even in the level of government, you can never really tell who is taking pay, who is taking cuts. And everyone is involved from the local level up to the mid-level government executives, and then I believe high up. 

Peter has more to say about corrupt politicians being complicit in the sextortion industry. 

In terms of corruption level, I guess we’re turning into Mexico and Colombia in so far as extortion is concerned. That’s what I fear the most. 

They invest in their security. They invest heavily on firepower. Rubbing elbows with bigwig politicians around our jurisdiction and other provinces as well. So, her power and influences just goes far reaching. 

Driving into North Hill Mariana is worried about appearing conspicuous. Even so she asks a random woman on a motorcycle where Maria Caparas lives. The woman says follow me and takes her to City Hall where she can find residential records. The women on duty say Maria does not live in town anymore but her sister does. They agree to take Mariana to meet Maria's sister but then one of the women makes a phone call. 

It turns out to be a bust as the local producer says they have to leave town as everyone is alarmed by the cameras and the cops want to know what they are doing. But it's not a total loss as Mariana finds a contact in the Bulacan Jail named Diego who has been involved with sextortion. 

Diego claims he watched one of the men he was sextorting kill himself on camera. 

Mariana: We spent time in the Untied States with families who lost their sons because they committed suicide because of sextortion.

Diego: Really? 

Mariana: You never heard of this? No one ever said, "I'm going to kill myself if you continue asking me for money, blackmailing me?"

Diego: Yes

Mariana: Did they kill themselves?

Diego: Yes

Mariana: They died?

Diego: Yes

Mariana: How did you find out he killed himself? 

Diego: Because the camera of his laptop was on. 

Mariana: Oh my god that's horrible. And you saw it happening? 

Diego: Yes.

Mariana: What did you say? Didn't you ask him to stop?

Diego: We chatted him, but he set up a rope and committed suicide. 

Only Diego knows if that is a truthful confession but Mariana appears to believe and its shock value certainly makes for good television. 

And that is really it. This 45 minute program is nothing but a shock piece. Sure there is a massive problem in the Philippines with cybercrime including sextortion. But the online child exploitation market is bigger. Mariana says:

Combating sextortion requires updated legislation, significant resources, and collaboration between law enforcement agencies around the world. But these things rarely happen, so these crimes continue. As does the pain they cause. 

Actually, these things DO happen. Fighting online child sex abuse is a multi-country effort in the Philippines. Therefore it should be easy to combat sextortion. However, as Mariana van Zeller notes, the Queen of sextortion, Maria Caparas, has been arrested many times but is ALWAYS inexplicably released. Obviously she has help from people higher up the food chain. 

The difference between sextortion and online child sexual abuse is the difference between people who foolishly and willingly send their nudes to strangers and children who are forced into being abused. At no point in this story does Mariana suggest people should stop sending nudes to strangers on the internet. Just think right now how many pictures of nude white men are being sent through the ether and into the Philippines. It is rather hilarious to think the Philippines is bombarded with the digital signals of nude white men.

Necrophilia is Legal in the Philippines

Did you know necrophilia is legal in the Philippines? That is to say it's not a crime. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/28/this-house-bill-could-finally-criminalize-necrophilia-in-ph

The Philippines currently has no law explicitly criminalizing necrophilia or sexual acts with a corpse, but a bill filed by North Cotabato 3rd district Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Taliño Santos seeks to change that. 

Santos filed in the current 19th Congress House Bill (HB) No.9598, or the proposed Act defining the crime of cadaver desecration, providing penalties therefor and for other purposes. 

"This bill aims to impose criminal and civil liabiltiies on offenders guilty of desecrating cadavers," read HB No.9598. 

"The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of human cadaver as defined in this Act," it added. 

The measure defines desecration of cadavers as any act committed after the death of a human being, including, but not limited to dismemberment, disfigurement, mutilation, burning, or any act committed to cause the dead body to be devoured, scattered, or dissipated. 

It goes on to provide more specific language for the banned acts, one of them being "having sexual contact or activity with the dead", or necrophilia. 

The Santos bill further lists down the following prohibitions: dumping of cadavers, including infants and fetuses, with the intent of abandoning the cadaver; mutilating the cadaver, including infants and fetuses, except for embalming and medical purposes; destruction of tombs and other private or public burial sites; and taking from the grave the personal property buried with the dead including; but not limited to, the coffin, clothing, and jewelry. 

The bill is also seeking to outlaw the burying the dead, including infants and fetuses, without securing approval and appropriate permits from local health units; selling the cadaver onducting any medical study or experiment on the dead, including infants and fetuses without securing approval and appropriate permit from local health units. 

Santos stressed in her proposed stature that Congress is mandated to give the highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to human dignity. 

"The right to human dignity extends to the right of dignity of dead bodies. There have been instances in the past, some of which were highlighted in news reports, of dead bodies being dumped in inappropriate places," she said. 

"In keeping with our mandate to protect and promote human dignity, there is an imperative need to supplement the dearth in laws by penalizing the crime of cadaver desecration as a separate crime," added Santos. 

The measure is pending before the House Committee on Justice.

The quest to criminalize necrophilia extends back at least two decades. In 2006 Senator Manny Villar filed a bill criminalizing necrophilia. 

https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2006/1031_villar1.asp

Respect of the dead is the theme of the three bills filed by Senate President Manny Villar. These are Senate Bill (SB) 697 or the Desecration of the Dead Act; SB 2267 Criminalizing and Penalizing Necrophilia or Carnal Knowledge with the Dead; and SB 2298 or An Act Establishing National Cemeteries and Providing for their Administration and Maintenance.

According to Villar, Every year, on All Souls Day, Filipinos pay their respects to their loved ones who have passed on to show that the dead should never be forgotten and their memories should be preserved. However, there are not enough laws that promote respect for the dead. There are still reported incidents of desecration of the dead.

While many preserve the time-honored Filipino tradition of respecting the dead, there are still lawless elements out there who disrespect and desecrate the dead. We should put a stop to their detestable and heinous acts against our dearly departed, adds Villar.

Villar cites on his SB 697 that presently desecration of the dead is not defined and penalized as a crime under the Revised Penal Code. Anyone caught dumping a dead person, unless charged with murder or homicide, would only be guilty of violating the law on the burial of the dead person under the Code of Sanitation, which provides only a penalty of six months imprisonment or a fine of less than P1,000, further cites Villar.

Villars SB 697 proposes the penalty of prision mayor upon any person who shall commit the crime of desecration of the dead which include acts such as dumping of dead person including fetuses, mutilating of the dead, destruction of tombs or public burial sites, having sexual contact or activity with the dead or necrophilia, among others.

Villar recently modified through another bill, SB 2267, the penalty for necrophilia or the crime committed by a person who engages in sexual intercourse with a female corpse. Under the said bill, the penalty for necrophilia shall be reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of P100,000 to P500,000 at the discretion of the court.

Senator Villar refiled this bill in 2011. Senator Estrada also filed a similar bill. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17260/senate-bill-to-criminalize-necrophilia

Anyone who sexually abuses a living person has at least a chance of being punished as the law provides for it. However, if that someone were to do it to the dead, he will probably get away with it. 

Two senators have filed separate bills criminalizing necrophilia to plug this apparent loophole in the country’s criminal justice system.

The condition is characterized by a “morbid desire to have sexual contact with a dead body, usually of men to perform a sexual act with a dead woman,” according to Mosby’s Medical Dictionary.

Sen. Manuel Villar said the “forcible imposition of manhood … directed against a lifeless female does not make the grisly act any less detestable and heinous.”

“In fact, this vicious bestiality is notoriously offensive and revolting to the feelings of the living even as it grossly desecrates the dead,” he said in explanatory note to his Senate Bill 1297.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who filed SB 505, noted that under the present Revised Penal Code, “only defamation to blacken the memory of one who is dead is criminalized.”

The two bills seek to amend the Revised Penal Code and introduce a provision against necrophilia.

The Senate committee on justice and human rights conducted a preliminary hearing on the bills last month. Sen. Francis Escudero, the committee chair, acknowledged the absence of penalties against necrophilia under existing laws.

He said this was also probably the reason why no such cases have been found to have been reported to the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation.

In 2013 Gloria Arroyo revived filed a bill seeking to punish necrophilia.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/453145/arroyo-re-files-bill-seeking-to-punish-necrophilia

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wants stiff penalties for persons who commit necrophilia, or deriving sexual gratification from copulating with corpses, an act that she describes as “grisly and heinous.”

Arroyo and son Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo have re-filed their bill to criminalize necrophilia and to punish it with a prohibitive fine and imprisonment.

Necrophilia is not a criminal offense under present laws and at most, desecration of a corpse makes one liable for damages under the Civil Code, according to the Arroyos in an explanatory note.

They said necrophilia should be penalized under the Revised Penal Code.

Their bill defines necrophilia as committing sexual intercourse or anal and/or oral sex with a corpse.

But how often does necrophilia happen? Could Senator Escudero be right in saying the absence of a law criminalizing necrophilia is preventing cases of necrophilia from being reported to the PNP? Perhaps there are no cases of necrophilia to report. Escudero is not being very logical. 

According to funeral home directors in Manila, necrophilia never happens. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/11/02/366629/145necrophilia-mere-shop-talk146

Embalmers and funeral managers said yesterday that necrophilia — or the obsession of having sex with the dead — is just shop talk handed down from one generation to another but with no actual basis. 

"Kathang kutsero lang yan (That’s just shop talk)," said Jun Luzona, funeral director of Nacional Funeral homes in Quezon City. 

He was reacting to a bill filed by Senate President Manuel Villar, which seeks life imprisonment for any person who commits necrophilia. 

Luzona said the story about an embalmer raping a dead woman has been circulating since he was a young boy, but for the last 16 years as funeral director, he has never heard an actual case in Metro Manila. 

He said the practice was impossible in their funeral parlor since their embalmers are professionals who passed a licensure exam given by the Department of Health. 

"Siguro sa mga malayong lugar pero sa Metro Manila impossible mangyari yan (Maybe in faraway places it might happen but in Metro Manila it’s impossible)," he said. 

He said they have high respect for the dead and relatives are always on guard during the embalming process. 

"Kwentong kutsero, kathang isip lang yan," agreed Leah de la Cruz of the Cinco Estrella Memorial Chapel on Quirino highway in Quezon City. 

She said in her 20 years as funeral director, she has not heard of a single case of necrophilia in funeral parlors in Metro Manila. 

De la Cruz said the story about embalmers raping a dead woman was circulated as a smear campaign by rival funeral parlors to get more clients. 

"Paninira lang yan (That’s just part of a smear campaign)," she said. 

She said if such a thing happens, relatives would be up in arms against anyone who desecrates their dead. 

Other managers and embalmers who do not want to be named also said that a law penalizing necrophilia is not necessary because such case seldom, if ever, happens. 

They claimed necrophilia is popular in books and movies but in real life it’s just an urban legend –at least, in the Philippines. 

Laws need to address more urgent things than a mere figment of the imagination, a funeral manager lamented.

That article is 20 years old so it may be a bit dated. Has there been an increase in necrophilia throughout the Philippines during that time? Such data is not readily available. 

What if necrophilia is just one of many sexual orientations? One lawmaker suggested as much when the SOGIE bill was being debated. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/11/04/2054562/no-sogie-bill-wont-legalize-necrophilia-pedophilia

The proposed bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) will not legalize necrophilia and pedophilia.

This is contrary to the suggestion of a resource person from religious group Coalition of Concerned Families during a House hearing on Wednesday that sexual orientation may also encompass necrophilia and pedophilia.

Lawyer Lyndon Caña from the group said that the anti-discrimination bill, also known as the SOGIE Equality Bill, does not put a limit to sexual orientations as it uses the term “LGBTQ+”

The plus is there to denote other sexual orientations and gender identities not encompassed under the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) acronym.

“When will this end? When will the orientation end?” Caña said. “For example, if an old man is attracted to very young children, that’s sexual orientation. That’s pedophilia. So included din ba yan sa fundamental human right? How about those who are sexually attracted to the dead? Necrophilia.”

Unlike being gay, straight or bisexual, necrophilia and pedophilia are not sexual orientations. Both are considered as paraphilic disorders under the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Rep. Geraldine Roman (Bataan) was also enraged at the absurdity of the suggestion linking the LGBTQ+ community to pedophilia and necrophilia.

“How dare you! We are here in the House of Representatives, you will seriously think that we will legislate something that would allow necrophilia and pedophilia?” Roman said.

The SOGIE Equality Bill does not contain any language that would legalize necrophilia or pedophilia.

The SOGIE does not need to legalize necrophilia because it is already legal. If Rep. Roman is incensed that anyone would think that the House would pass a bill legalizing necrophilia, then why can the Congress not pass a bill criminalizing it? And let's not forget that homosexuality was once considered a paraphilia so the arguments in this article and from Rep. Roman against necrophilia being a sexual orientation are quite illogical. The slippery slope is very real. 

Certainly necrophilia is disgusting and anyone who commits such an act would be rightly shunned from decent society. Filipinos make a big to-do over the dead every single year during Undas so they would not stand for such a desecration of the corpse of their loved one. Why then has this bill criminalizing necrophilia never been passed into law? Perhaps the funeral directors in Manila are right. It is a fictitious crime that never happens and there are more urgent things needing attention. 

But filing such a bill does get headlines so there is that.

Why Was Notorious Canadian Pedophile Frank Orville Mader Allowed to Return to the Philippines?

The Philippines has been noted as being a global source of child exploitation once more in 2022. While the authorities do routinely bust cybersex dens there is a lot more they are not doing to protect children in the Philippines. Take the case of Frank Orville Mader. His story is a little convoluted but is very important to understanding why the Philippines remains a global hub of child sexual exploitation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/whitetourists/comments/z5tpwg/canadian_tourist_orville_frank_mader_orville/

In 2004 Frank Orville Mader, a Canadian, was arrested in Cambodia for allegedly abusing children. 

https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/canadian-faces-allegations-of-pedophilia-38214/

A Canadian man was charged with debauchery in Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday for allegedly sexually abusing two boys aged 11 and 14. 

Court prosecutor Nget Sarath charged Orville Frank Mader, alleging the 51-year-old had the boys fondle him. Under the anti-human trafficking law, Nget Sarath said, Mader could face 10 to 15 years in prison.

Waiting outside the courtroom Friday, a calm, quiet Mader said he did nothing wrong.

Mader, who said he was a teach­er in Japan here on vacation, al­lowed the boys to stay at his rented house because they appeared to be homeless, he said. During the past few weeks, he said, he al­lowed up to 20 boys to stay there at a time.

He and some of the boys en­gaged in “sex play,” he said, but he did not have oral sex or sexual intercourse with any of them.

“It was all very tender and gentle,” Mader said. “It was just normal. The boys were expressing their sexuality and I felt honored to be part of that…. They initiated it.”

“I don’t understand how something tender could be the same as murder,” Mader said, responding to the possible prison term. “I am not a bad person.”

On Thursday, police said they had arrested Mader and raided his house Tuesday, where they found three boys who claimed Mader paid them to have sex with him. Earlier the same day, police said, they had questioned two other boys who also said they had sex with the suspect several times.

The story begins that Mader was a teacher in Japan on vacation in Cambodia. He rented a house and allowed up to 20 homeless boys live with him. He engaged with them in sex play calling it normal and saying they initiated it and he "felt honored to be part of that." 

In 2007 Mader was arrested in Canada over charges that he had sexually abused boys in Thailand. The charges against him in Cambodia had apparently been dropped. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadian-man-wanted-by-thai-police-in-latest-child-sex-abuse-investigation/article18148383/

Police in Thailand have issued an arrest warrant for the second Canadian in three weeks alleged to have had sex with underage boys in the Southeast Asian country.

Lieutenant Sompol Nakkumpan told The Canadian Press the arrest warrant for Orville Frank Mader, 54, was issued after the father of an eight-year-old boy alleged that his son had been sexually abused by the Canadian.

Police say they believe he abused at least three other boys.

Immigration police at border crossing points and airports have been alerted in case Mr. Mader attempts to leave the country.

In 2004, Mr. Mader was arrested by police in Cambodia on charges of sexually abusing two boys, ages 11 and 14, but the charges were apparently dropped.

Sitting outside the courtroom awaiting his hearing at the time, Mr. Mader told The Cambodia Daily he was a teacher in Japan and was in Cambodia on vacation. He acknowledged that he allowed boys, sometimes as many as 20 at a time, to stay at his rented house because they appeared to be homeless.

His occupation is listed as "teacher" on the records, but neither the B.C. College of Teachers nor the provincial Ministry of Education has records of him being registered to teach at public or independent schools in the province.

Even the Globe and Mail seems nonplussed about the charges against Mader in Cambodia being dropped. He continued to claim to be a teacher but there is no record of him being a teacher in Canada which begs the question of how he became a teacher in Japan. Is there even a record of him being a teacher in Japan? In an interview Mader's neighbor offered a little insight.  

Rosemarie Laburda is the mother of Susan Laburda, a 50-year-old piano teacher and organist who is listed as a part-owner of Mr. Mader's house. In an interview from her North Vancouver home, the elder Mrs. Laburda said she and her daughter have known Mr. Mader for more than 20 years. She said the man never taught when he lived in B.C. and only began showing aspirations to teach when he decided to move overseas.

"Orv went to Japan for a job. He thought he would better himself," she said, adding that "the travelling ... he would do during his vacation visits in other countries."

Before he left for Japan, Mrs. Laburda said, Mr. Mader delivered newspapers for a living and did other delivery jobs.

Mrs. Laburda would not say how her daughter met Mr. Mader, who was born in Kitchener, Ont., but has lived in B.C. for at least two decades. However, she did say the two became friends shortly after he moved there.

"He needed a place to be when he moved to Vancouver. I think he was engaged, as a matter of fact. Somehow that engagement fell apart," she said, adding: "I know he's been a mailman at one time. He's done lots of different jobs."

Canada Post said there is no record of Mr. Mader having ever been employed by them, but it's possible he was a temporary worker.

Mrs. Laburda said her daughter and Mr. Mader were never in a relationship, adding her impression is that Mr. Mader is gay.

Mrs. Laburda went on to say that since Mr. Mader moved overseas, he's made only a few trips home, including one after the 2004 pedophilia charges levied against him in Cambodia were dropped.

"When the first thing happened, [Susan]would worry because he was charged. But then she was glad to see that he was let go. She's convinced that he's innocent, that he would never do anything like that. I was never too fond of him. I just had a feeling," she said.

That is not very insightful testimony from the woman who is listed as a part-owner of Mr. Mader's house. She does not say why she was "never too fond of him."

Even though it appeared that the Cambodian charges against Mader had been dropped that was not the case. He was convicted in absentia. 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/restrictions-lifted-on-man-convicted-of-sex-crimes-abroad-1.596581

A man convicted in absentia of sex crimes against children in Cambodia has been allowed unrestricted freedom in Canada, even though the Crown expressed concerns when he was arrested that he was a danger to children. 

While a judge granted a restraining order against Orville Mader meant to protect children back in 2007, that order has been allowed to lapse. 

Now, it's unclear whether the man who has not been charged with offences is Canada will be free to travel to other countries. 

Mader faces a 15-year jail term in Cambodia for sex crimes against children and was accused of sex crimes against a 13-year-old boy in Thailand, but travelled back to Canada shortly after the charges were laid. 

When he arrived in Vancouver in late 2007 carrying nothing but his laptop computer, he was arrested and held. 

At the time, the Crown said investigators were working on sex-tourism charges against Mader. In the meantime a judge granted an order under Section 810.1 of the Criminal Code when prosecutor Wendy van Tongeren Harvey said there were concerns he was a danger to children. 

"He's attracted to not only boys, but young boys. We're seeking conditions where children are safe," she told the provincial court judge in 2007. 

Details of the court proceedings that day were protected by a publication ban that has now expired. 

Among his many restrictions, Mader was ordered to stay away from children and anywhere they might congregate, to stay off the Internet, to give up his passport and to report on a regular basis to the authorities near where he was staying in Surrey, B.C. 

While the order was renewed against him annually in 2008 and 2009, it wasn't renewed in November 2010. 

RCMP Staff Sgt. Ed Boettcher said police did a lot of work on the Mader file both in Canada and internationally. 

"There came a time in 2009 where investigators met with Crown and said this is what we've compiled, Crown looked at it and said it doesn't meet the standards of Canadian evidence." 

He said satisfying the evidence threshold would have taken a massive effort.

Under its regulations, Passport Canada is allowed to revoke travel documents if the person has been charged with an indictable offence in Canada or a similar offence abroad. 

Mader is presumed innocent because no charges will be laid here in Canada, and McConaghy said there would be no reason his passport wouldn't be returned. 

"Which I believe is in error ...," he said. 

Because the Canadian government was not able to satisfy "the evidence threshold" to convict Mader he was not charged with a crime and his passport was returned.  Thus he was able to travel abroad and continue engaging in sexual relations with boys in Southeast Asia. 

In October 2015 he was arrested in Manila for human trafficking. 

https://www.philstar.com/metro/2015/10/16/1511502/canadian-held-human-trafficking

A Canadian man was arrested for human trafficking after he was caught with a half-naked child on his bed in his condominium in Manila Thursday night.

Frank Orville Mader’s arrest stemmed from a tip the National Bureau of Investigation received on Oct. 9 that minors were being abused and drugs were sold in Mader’s unit, NBI deputy director Joel Tovera said.

NBI agents coordinated with the condominium’s security officers, who accompanied them to Mader’s unit.  

Tovera said they have coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Canadian embassy.             

This arrest was noted in the 2016 accomplishment report of the Philippines' Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. 

https://aseanactpartnershiphub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/2016-IACAT-Annual-TIP-Report.pdf

Frank Orville mader, notorious Canadian pedophile, arrested in Taguig for child sex trafficking

One would think a "notorious Canadian pedophile" caught in the act with a boy in his hotel would be sentenced to prison or at least blacklisted from ever entering the Philippines. Neither of those things happened because in 2022 Mader was arrested in Laguna for molesting a boy.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1677192/canadian-man-nabbed-for-allegedly-molesting-boy-in-laguna

A Canadian man was arrested by the police for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old boy in Biñan, Laguna.

A report by the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the victim was accompanied by his father in filing a complaint for sexual abuse against Orv Mader, 65, a retired teacher.

The PNP said the boy revealed the alleged molestation during a confrontation between the suspect and the victim’s family at the barangay (village) hall.

“Thus, upon knowing the incident the father of the victim sought assistance from the barangay tanod (watchmen) which eventually effected the arrest of the suspect after [being] positively identified and pinpointed by the victim,” the spot report stated.

Mader is now facing complaints for violating Republic Act 7610 or the “Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.”

How was Mader allowed back in the Philippines after being previously arrested for human trafficking? Misbehaving foreigners are routinely blacklisted yet apparently this man was allowed to go free and return to the Philippines with no problems. And where is he now? Is he being detained or has been allowed to leave the country? There are serious questions that need answering here. Most important of all is how is it that this man has been convicted of sex crimes with children, is known to be a "notorious Canadian pedophile," and yet is able to travel the world seeking more victims with no problems. Who is financing this guy?

As I noted before the Philippine authorities do bust cybersex dens and even arrest foreign pedophiles. Take the case of UK national John Crotty. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1672638/bi-nabs-convicted-uk-sex-offender-in-misamis-occidental

A 64-year-old convicted sex offender from the United Kingdom was arrested in Misamis Occidental for allegedly running a child porn website, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the suspect, identified as John Crotty, was collared in his rented home in Tangub City last September 15, after officers found evidence of him posting obscene photos of underage Filipino women across his social media accounts and website.

“The sex offender was reportedly jailed for nine years in the UK but moved to the country shortly after his release from prison,” Tansingco added.

Mahanan further pointed out that the suspect arrived in the country to go into hiding on February 6, and has since overstayed his visa.

With this in mind, the BI said Crotty is now facing deportation and was placed under the BI’s blacklist, effectively banning him from re-entering the country.

Will Crotty really be banned from re-entering the country? What guarantee do the people have that such will be the case and that the ban will be enforced? If Frank Orville Mader was banned he was certainly able to gain entry. Perhaps there is something more nefarious at hand here. Perhaps not. As it is the Philippines is poised to remain a global hub for children sexual exploitation for years to come. 

After all These Years the Philippines Remains Number One in Child Sexual Exploitation

The Philippines has led the world in child sexual exploitation for a number of years. 2022 is no different. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/853913/philippines-leading-in-child-sexual-exploitation-says-remulla-after-meeting-un-rapporteur/story/

The Philippines is leading in child sexual exploitation, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Thursday.

Remulla thus told reporters after he met Mama Fatima Singhateh, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children, who paid him a courtesy call.

Asked about the status of online sexual exploitation in the country, Remulla said, "We’re No. 1 in the world."

"We're number 1 in the world. This should be gone. The Marcos administration is making efforts to stop the Philippines’ status on being the leading country in child sexual exploitation,” Remulla said.

Remulla said he gave Singhateh "an official letter" to tell her what the Philippines was doing to combat child sexual exploitation.

"Actually, we've declared war on this. It's the first thing we did since the inception of the Marcos regime," Remulla said of the government's campaign against child sexual exploitation.

Now, it is true that one of the first acts of President Marcos was to declare a war on child sexual exploitation. But who cares when there has been a war on child sexual exploitation for several years? Is Remulla more concerned about fighting child sexual exploitation or with touting Bongbong Marcos as a savior of the children?

United Nations Special Rapporteur Mama Fatima Singhateh on Thursday bared that the Philippines remained to be a source and place for child trafficking, sale, sexual abuse, and forced marriage and labor, among others.

In a news conference, Singhateh presented the preliminary findings of her 11-day visit to the Philippines.

She said there was a lack of explicit legal provision in the Constitution to penalize the exploitation of children for travel and tourism.

The purpose of the constitution is to delineate how the government functions. There are laws on the books penalizing the exploitation of children in the Philippines and this is later acknowledged in the article.  

She said the tourism industry lacked information to prevent sexual exploitation.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) said there's a law to prevent child abuse in the country, especially in the tourist destinations, according to “24 Oras” report on Thursday.

The department said they also have training in the DOT-accredited resorts and hotels to capture the perpetrators.

It added that there is also a hotline to immediately contact hotels and resort personnel.

Singhateh goes on to make several recommendations one of which is to see this problem holistically. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/12/08/2229470/un-expert-urges-philippines-focus-tackling-sexual-exploitation-children-tourism-too

The UN expert observed that while there are a lot of focus on the online exploitation of children, the attention on matters related to sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism, and through transactional sex “has not been adequate.”

“Sexual abuse and exploitation should be seen holistically,” said Singhateh, who served as The Gambia’s justice minister.

“I’m highlighting sexual abuse and exploitation in the context of tourism and travel, and in transactional sex because I did not hear the government talk about it. If the government is not talking about it, that means interventions that are being used are not focused on that area,” she added.

Why does the Philippines remain number one in the world for child sexual exploitation after all these years? Why do foreigners either travel here for sex or solicit women online to abuse their children on camera? Why do Filipinas sell their babies on Facebook? Why are authorities so inept at stopping these crimes? 

A while back I wrote about a case where the authorities knew a woman was running a cybersex den with children yet refused to arrest her because she stopped for a while during the pandemic. 

Wednesday’s raid stemmed from an anti-online sexual exploitation operation conducted last 2020, in which the arrested individuals told investigators about the female suspect’s illegal activities, too. 

Ibo said they were about to entrap her back then. However, lockdowns and mobility restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic apparently prompted the suspect to halt any online sexual exploitation activities. 

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-pandemic-lockdown-prevented-police.html 

That kind of incompetence is shocking. As far as the trafficking of children goes, especially in regards to illegal adoption, the incompetence is even more shocking. 

Last year, he said his agency examined about 10 cases of commercial adoption of children. The case numbers have been "steady" in recent years, but that is because the NBI does not have a unit dedicated to tackling the crime. 

Aguto said that if there were investigators dedicated to this kind of crime, the case numbers would probably shoot up.

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2021/12/why-do-filipina-women-sell-their-babies.html 

It is not known exactly how widespread this problem of illegal adoption is because the "NBI does not have a unit dedicated to tackling this crime." If they actually started looking then the number of cases would likely increase exponentially. Amazing.

It is true that sex trafficking operations are routinely busted in the Philippines. Some involve children and others involve adults. But nothing has changed over the six years since the infamous 2016 UNICEF report tagging the Philippines as the number one global source of child pornography. 

http://www.manilatimes.net/philippines-is-no-1-global-source-of-child-pornography/267148/

I have written about online child sexual exploitation several times over the years on this blog. It seems like nothing has changed. I certainly have nothing new to add.  Online exploitation of children is a billion dollar family business and there is a culture of silence and impunity that allows it to happen. And God forbid we start discussing other topics such as the global elite and their predilection for the young as testified by the Epstein case. Who knows how deep the rabbit hole goes and what role the Philippines plays in that world? It would be folly to place the blame on poverty. There are plenty of poor folks who do not descend to such depravity as pimping their children.

Online Sex Christmas Sale

To put it bluntly the pandemic has pushed many girls and women around the world out of the workplace and into the sad, lonely world of Onlyfans where based on a tiered subscription fee they will send nudes. Some girls have allegedly made millions off what is essentially prostitution. While there are no reports of Filipinas flocking to that website to augment their income there are reports that some girls sold nudes via Facebook and Twitter so they could buy school supplies and pay their tuition.

https://thepost.net.ph/news/nation/students-hold-an-online-sex-christmas-sale/

STUDENTS who turned to online sex to raise money for their education held a “Christmas sale” in a bid to pay unpaid tuition and other fees, said a report reaching The POST.

Using #AlterPH, #AlterPinay, or #AlterPhilippines on Twitter, the students sell their “goods”,  mostly sensual photos and videos.

Some said that they use part of their “earnings” to buy gadgets for their siblings or pay their internet bills.

A “Christmas bundle” can go for as low as P150 which can be paid through a middleman on GCash or Paypal. “Tips” for good service can also be coursed through the same manner.

The bundle comprises an array of photos and videos that sometimes reveal the face of the “seller”.

Individual services like quick video calls on the other hand go for as low as P30 to P100. “Freebies” are also offered, like longer duration of calls.

Some of the students said they entered the “business “ because they had no other option to raise money.

Gender equality advocate groups from the Philippine Normal University raised alarm on the rising number of cases of students in the online sex industry.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers also hit the Department of Education for its failure to provide safeguards for students from sexual exploitation.

“The issue of online prostitution involving students is especially alarming since the Philippines is regarded as a global hotspot for online sexual exploitation of children,” ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said.

This same kind of report was also issued in November, 2020.

https://thepost.net.ph/news/nation/students-nude-photos-sold-on-twitter/

MONEY problems have forced some students to enter the sex industry on Twitter.

Originally a platform for sexual expression for some adults, #AlterPH, #AlterPinay, and #AlterPhilippines were recently flooded with newcomers, hoping to get into the business to finance their education.

Some students said that they are open for bookings around Metro Manila but they require a downpayment days before the meetup.

A women’s rights advocate group in PNU expressed concern over the reports of students engaging in online pornography and sex trade.

As I noted above girls and women around the world have been increasingly turning to online prostitution via Onlyfans to make ends meet. No one in the West is as concerned about them the way people in the Philippines are concerned about this development of girls selling nudes online. That's funny because in the West women's rights groups would label this as sex work and claim it empowers those involved in that trade. Here a women's rights group calls it "concerning."

The difference is that the Philippines is a global hotspot for human trafficking and online sexual exploitation. Who really knows who is behind the selling of those photos?

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126185

"It is alarming that due to problems brought about by pandemic, our youth face extreme risk of falling as victims of abuses and violence. These unscrupulous people take advantage of the need of our students and our government should stop this,” he said in a news release issued on Sunday.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, said the Department of Education should boost its child protection program.

He noted that the ‘Child Protection Committees’ (CPC) in schools are mandated to identify learners who may be experiencing abuse and exploitation. CPCs are also expected to report cases to government agencies and non-government organizations.

Gatchalian seeks a stronger government crackdown of trafficking.

While there may be unscrupulous people taking advantage of destitute girls and women it's also possible that they did it all on their own. Senator Gatchalian has probably never heard of Onlyfans and cannot fathom the fact that anyone would willingly sell nudes online. There are Youtube videos on how to start an account in the Philippines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tWgRh7u8K0

This is for all the students and has no work during ECQ looking for income now if you have any other questions just comment.

This lady frames Onlyfans prostituion as an opportunity for income, not as something depraved or abusive. But, as I said, the problem is that these students were selling nudes, videos, calls, and even meet ups for dirt-cheap over Twitter and Facebook and we cannot be sure if they were not coerced to do so. Even if it were Onlyfans there would still be a problem because the Philippines is a hub for online sexual exploitation. In fact business has been booming during the pandemic.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/01/05/2068237/child-porn-transactions-hit-p113-million-6-months

Suspicious transactions worth P113.1 million related to child pornography were reported in the first half of last year, almost double the P65.8 million booked in 2019 as the government stepped up its campaign against the sexual abuse of children, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) revealed.

In a public bulletin titled “Child pornography in the Philippines,” the AMLC showed the volume of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) reached 27,217 from January to June 2020 or more than 2.5 times the 10,627 reported for the entire 2019.

“STRs submitted in the first semester of 2020 have already exceeded STRs submitted in 2019,” the AMLC said.

“The report also revealed a possible existence of organized crime groups and syndicates involved in child exploitation activities due to multiple links between senders and beneficiaries. Child pornography in the Philippines is predominantly cross-border in nature, but localized setting is also evident because of the domestic remittances related to child pornography,” AMLC said.

Meanwhile, Malacañang urged people yesterday to report to the police any information about the alleged selling of sensual photos and videos by financially troubled students as the National Bureau of Investigation and the justice department’s cybercrime office vowed to strengthen efforts against online human trafficking.

See how Duterte has neatly tied students selling nudes to human trafficking? That is a huge leap and assumption.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/06/21/duterte-wants-cybercrime-experts-to-probe-alleged-sale-of-students-sexy-photos-videos

President Rodrigo Duterte will summon cybercrime units and experts to look into reports that some students have been selling obscene photos and videos of themselves online to support their studies, an ally said on Wednesday.  

Duterte is "deeply concerned with the welfare of these children," said his former longtime aide, Sen. Christopher Go. 

(The President plans to summon cybercrime units and experts from concerned agencies to discuss how to stop this and protect our youth.) 

In the first report we are told that "students" were selling nudes to pay for tuition and other fees. That could be university students or it could be minors who attend private high schools. Now Bong Go says it's "children" selling nudes online. That brings up quite different and horrific pictures in our mind. It is quite a loaded statement which is also unfounded. There have not been reports of children selling nudes online but "students." Do the authorities even know who is doing what or why they are doing it? 

But that's the Philippines. Nothing is ever what it seems. There is always something lurking beneath. And it's usually not very pretty.

Senator Gatchalian says the government "should stop this."  Senator Imee Marcos aires with him.

 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/08/21/probe-into-sale-of-lewd-photos-of-minors-sought-in-senate

Sen. Imee Marcos has filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate reports of minors selling sexual photos and videos online to allegedly buy gadgets for their online classes. 

News reports showed that some minors have been selling their lewd photos for P150 to "raise money... to buy gadgets and pay internet bills," Marcos said in her Senate Resolution No. 604, filed on Thursday. 

"The actions taken and progress achieved, or lack thereof, by the government and telecommunications firms to solve this growing problem must be made public," she said in a statement. 

"The problem may have already grown to involve not only individual perverts but organized crime syndicates," she said.  

About 27,000 suspicious transaction reports linked to child pornography were recorded from January to June 2020, the senator said, citing data from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). 

The figure is 156 percent higher than child pornography transactions in the first half of 2019, according to data from the AMLC. 

Marcos noted that "the number of local recipients of suspicious remittances via banks, money issuers and electronic wallets was highest in Pampanga, Cebu, Bulacan, Cavite and Quezon City." 

"The delay in face-to-face classes will continue to expose grade school and high school children to these local and foreign sexual predators lurking on the internet," she said.

Senator Marcos is confusing the issues. One issue is girls selling racy pictures online to pay for school and the other issue is the ongoing scourge of child pornography and online sexual exploitation. In the latter instance all the government can do is monitor the web and go after violators. They have had some successes with major busts resulting. But as far as individuals selling nudes online what exactly can the government do to stop that? Who would the Senate summon during a hearing? It would likely devolve into moral pontificating and hand-wringing. I wonder if Imee knows you can illegally adopt a Filipino baby over Facebook. Will there be a hearing over that horrific reality?