DOCTORS tried to save Rose’s life in vain. Her death was caused by an infection she got from a foreign object that was inserted through her sensitive body part by a foreign pedophile. Her sexual abuser was set free because of a technicality—her relatives could not establish whether Rose was 11 or 12 years old.

This is only one of the many reported cases of child abuse in the country. Child abuse has been going on for far too long, and the Philippines is still in dire need of a tighter law that will fully protect our children. Our present law on statutory rape, for example, is almost 80 years old and protects only children up to 11 years old. This means that children who are 12 years old and above remain sitting ducks for child abusers.

The Children in Need of Special Protection Study of 2007 shows that 1,026 cases of sexual abuse were reported in 2006, compared  with 374 in 1997. Nearly 90 percent of these victims were women. A 2001 study by the Department of Social Welfare and Development shows over 1,000 child rape cases in the National Capital Region alone. As of December 2007, there are 30,000 pedophiles in Asia who are yet to be prosecuted.

The circumstances by which these violations were committed are truly disturbing, considering that these were done on children who hardly have the power to defend themselves physically and psychologically. It also affects children coming from all social classes.

One can only imagine how many more cases of child abuse are out there that remain undocumented and unreported. Tarlac Rep. Nikki Prieto-Teodoro, chairman of the House Committee on the Welfare of Children, says the prevalence of child abuse is reflective of the country’s inadequate and obsolete laws. “Our present law needs reexamination if the interests of relevance and sensitivity to the times are to be served,” she says.

Aware of this dire situation working against children’s rights, Prieto-Teodoro is pushing for three laws that will uphold the human dignity and rights of Filipino children. These proposed laws specifically address statutory rape, child pornography and corporal punishment on children. These House bills are referred to the House committee that she chairs.

“Child abuse is happening right under our noses. Statistics do not reflect the reality and gravity of the problem—what about those that are unreported?” asks Prieto-Teodoro. “Let us not turn a blind eye to this serious problem. Let’s strengthen the existing laws and see through its implementation.”

Any form of abuse on a child, she stressed, brings a devastating long-term psychological, social and behavioral impact. An in-depth study by the United Nations on violence against children indicated that abused children suffered from extreme anxiety, stress, or depression, which has led to physical disorders later on in the child’s life. On the other hand, those whose fragile young bodies could not take the abuse end up six feet under.

Case in point is that of nine-year-old Madel, who allegedly died from acute tonsillitis and asphyxiation pneumonia. For a full week before she died, Madel had fever, experienced difficulty in breathing and suffered from swollen throat. The cause was a mystery to her parents, until one of Madel’s classmates revealed that the child was forced to eat pencil shavings by her teacher. It was her punishment for being suspected of scattering the shavings on the classroom floor.

Another form of child abuse is child rape and prostitution, which is addressed by the proposed House Bill 683, or the antichild exploitation law. This proposed law is an amendment to Act 3815 to raise the minimum age for statutory rape from 12 years old and below to 16 years old. The amendment widens the protection against sexual exploitation among Filipino children and will make this particular law on a par with internationally acceptable levels of defining age of sexual consent.

“The purpose of the law is to protect our children from sexual predators and pedophiles who take advantage of our children’s innocence and vulnerability. We must increase the age of statutory rape to 16 and rationalize the penalties to give our children greater protection,” says Prieto-Teodoro.

Child pornography, which often leads to sexual abuse and exploitation, is particularly challenging, especially in the advent of technological advancements. It has become easy for perpetrators to target and use minors in their malicious intentions. Foreigners who prey on Filipino children use Filipino accomplices to produce, distribute and sell child pornographic materials via the Internet or mobile phones.

A serious case of child pornography came to light in 1988 when 22 foreign nationals were arrested in Pagsanjan, Laguna.  One of the known perpetrators, Andrew Harvey, victimized at least 590 Pagsanjan children ages 7 to 17. It was a clear sign of widespread pedophilia amid an environment that lacks appropriate laws to protect our children against this kind of abuse. It also proves that child pornography is systemic, organized, syndicated and transnational in scope.

Prieto-Teodoro’s third proposed law covers this sensitive and alarming issue on child pornography that has been plaguing the Internet, electronic devices and mobile gadgets today. House Bill 684, or the Anti-Child Pornography Act, will help eliminate child exploitation using these information-technology tools. Anyone who is caught producing, peddling, transmitting, advertising, or possessing any digital material that exposes a child aged 18 and below for sexual purposes will be penalized.

Vigilance against child abuse can be done in many ways, according to Prieto-Teodoro. She says that “a strong law upholding children’s rights can easily lead to stronger strategies, campaigns and programs that will educate the people on how to safeguard these rights.” Public awareness, in her view, can help influence support from the government, nongovernment organizations, the international community, religious groups, advocates, parents, teachers and the children themselves.

This is the first time in the Philippines that a committee focusing on child welfare has been established. The congresswoman believes that while issues and concerns about the violation of the child’s human dignity is no longer news, not everything has been clearly and fully defined to protect it. “The groundwork has been set. It’s only a matter of time before everyone starts getting seriously involved for the sake of our children. We will continue to watch over the kids and, hopefully, their children’s children.”

Behind their innocent laughter, the Filipino children are crying in silence for our protection. Legislation is only the first step. The first bold step.

Who’s watching our kids?

DOCTORS tried to save Rose’s life in vain. Her death was caused by an infection she got from a foreign object that was inserted through her sensitive body part by a foreign pedophile. Her sexual abuser was set free because of a technicality—her relatives could not establish whether Rose was 11 or 12 years old.

The wind beneath their wings

PHILIPPINE Airlines’ (PAL) steady progress to profitability has kept in step with its commitment to CSR (corporate social responsibility).  But in 1998, that fateful year when PAL was plunged into receivership, the very survival of the PAL Foundation, its CSR arm, was also at stake.

Manila: heartland of Bangsamoro

MARAWI is not the heartland of the Bangsamoro. Neither is Jolo, nor Cotabato. Definitely not the Basilan capital. Liguasan Marsh is a far-off choice.

‘Paradise drowning’

WHILE the rest of the world continues to debate the implications of climate change, amid stark warnings from scientists of the increase in the earth’s temperature by 1.8°C to 4°C by the end of this century, people living on small Pacific islands live with the risk that their villages could be rendered uninhabitable within a decade due to rising sea levels.

Climate change threatens humanity

CLIMATE change is one of the most critical global challenges of our time: that’s an understatement.  World scientists acknowledge it’s a serious challenge, big business is calling for government action and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds that billions of people are at risk from hunger, disease increases, drastic loss of biodiversity, retreating glaciers, expanding deserts, among other sobering reports.

Boost growth & profitability–at the same time

Getting the top line headed north without sending the bottom line south is the ideal, but it’s difficult to realize.  According to Dominic Dodd and Ken Favaro, authors of The Three Tensions: Winning the Struggle to Perform Without Compromise (Jossey-Bass, 2007), there’s only a 40-percent probability that a company’s revenue or market-share growth will be profitable.

CTO BOB IANNUCCI on the ‘deep future’ of NOKIA

Bob Iannucci, Nokia’s chief technology officer, is betting that the mobile-phone industry will soon make the same sharp turn that the mainframe, minicomputer and PC industries took in past years: Platforms will become standardized, manufacturers will stop making incompatible hardware and the value of software and services will soar.

The business of Belo

Before joining the health and wellness industry, Belo Medical Group Inc. (BMG) chief executive officer Enrique Soriano III was making waves in marketing and was considered one of the most dynamic management executives in the country.

Winning: A moment in the sun for European business

Q: What are your thoughts about European business right now? Oliver Stoldt, Interlaken, Switzerland

INSIDE HAITI

PORT-AU-PRINCE—Haiti is a beautiful Caribbean island with the best beaches and temperatures in the world. It is, however, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, plagued by violence, hunger, extreme poverty, disease, high unemployment rates, low life-expectancy averages and crumbling health and educational systems.  Haiti’s history is filled with turmoil and unrest.

Health work-force exodus

GENEVA, Switzerland—The exodus of doctors, nurses and other health workers from many developing countries to higher-paying jobs abroad has created a health work force crisis taking its toll on the poorest and most vulnerable populations. 

Health fund helps poor manage emergency health situations

TAMPAKAN,  South Cotabato—A health-care fund in the barrios? There’s one in some remote barrios in eastern Mindanao, and the poor villagers are showing through their years of practice that health-care financing can actually work even in the remote areas.

Do your stars see a reason to stay?

Recruiters want your top people. And they know how to win them over. They invite your best and brightest to break free of their current positions and conjure up visions of the work they’d love to be doing.

SUPPLY CHAIN: SUBSIDIES AND THE CHINA PRICE

Many assume that China’s cost advantage in manufacturing comes from cheap labor. But in China’s burgeoning steel industry, our research suggests, massive government energy subsidies, not other factors, keep prices down. These subsidies have broad implications for how companies compete and collaborate with Chinese businesses.

Father & Son & Co.: The Claudios

Roberto Claudio Sr. and Roberto “Toby” Claudio Jr. are more than just father and son. They are also partners in business.

Under the elder Claudio’s guidance, Toby’s Sport’s has become the leading sports store in the country. And when the time came for junior to help in the family venture, his son eagerly and enthusiastically joined the business.

Father & Son & Co.: The Uys

JACINTO Uy believes he’s luckier than most family-centric businessmen: all his children chose to work for him.

“The greatest thing about it is enjoying working under him,” Uy’s son Michael, the eldest of three children helping to steer Moldex Group of Companies in a high oil price environment and ride a booming real-estate sector.

Winning: Worldwide leadership

Q: How will the Internet change leadership? Octavian Pantis, Bucharest, Romania

A: Profoundly—but not entirely. Indeed, not in one aspect that matters a lot.

The future in a grain

THE Primer Farm School (PFS) will open on June 15 in San Jose City,  Nueva Ecija, with a simple aim: Let us export rice in three years. If this appears to be too ambitious, let us make it in four.

As carriers fight in the skies, Pinoy OFWs suffer on earth

WHEN Rexz Maranan came home from London via the Middle East to bury his 80-year-old mother in January, he expected to be away from his work for about two weeks before returning to his job at the Heathrow Airport as a security officer. 

Getting sound advice on social initiatives

Companies today face a common challenge: how to develop workable programs that will help them move forward strategically on corporate social responsibility, or CSR, initiatives that matter to customers and employees. 

Use role-play to drive front-line change

Leading change is never easy, but in some contexts it’s especially difficult. Ask Elaine Weinstein. A former HR executive at KeySpan, she encountered strong resistance to change when management at the unionized utility decided to implement some new HR and workflow processes that would eliminate redundancy.