Like shabu, cyber-sex dens are hard to stop

"He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it."
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The Archimedes of the Philippines' law enforcement has not yet found the leverage to yell "Eureka" in the solution of their campaign not only against illegal drugs, but also against another criminal operation, the cyber-sex den.
Shabu and cyber-sex dens have victimized minors and exploited our women.
Ten months after the Philippine government launched an "all-out" drive versus narcotics, police authorities continued to raid hideouts of notorious drug pushers and seize kilos of shabu.
Those who "engaged lawmen in a shootout" continued to be riddled with bullets and killed on the spot.
"Oplan Tokhang" has not sent shivers down the spine of drug traffickers. Kilos of illegal substance hidden in secret laboratories have not been located and continued to be distributed clandestinely.
Ditto in the crackdown against cyber-sex dens.
Even before President Rodrigo Duterte came, authorities were already arresting cyber-sex den operators in various cities nationwide.

FOREIGNERS

Most arrested cyber-sex den operators were foreigners who are either engaged to local women or staying in the Philippines as temporary visitors.
They usually connived with local partners and have chosen far-flung cities and provinces as their burrows to avoid detection from lawmen.
The case of a 62-year-old Lee David Colglazier, American tourist arrested in Brgy. Taculing, Bacolod City recently after being caught uploading videos of him having sex with different partners, is an example that cyber-sex activities are still very much rampant despite continuous police operations to curve them.
In recent months, another foreigner was nabbed together with his Filipino female live-in partner in Boracay for molesting and torturing minor girls and uploading their videos for their foreign-based clients.
Every now and then, discovery of cyber-sex dens has been dominating the news alternately with raids on lairs of durg traffickers and other minor crimes.
Now that we have a law like the Republic Act 9995, or the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009 that deals with cyber-sex criminals, authorities must continue crack the whip on cyber-sex criminals anywhere in the Philippines.

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We were shocked to hear the alleged complaints from some RMN radio netizens that Iloilo City Councilor Joshua Alim "abused his authority" in a recent traffic fracas involving a cabbie in Jaro district.
The unidentified cabbie reportedly nearly hit Alim's car prompting the city alderman to call the cabbie's attention.
Instead of acknowledging his mistake, the cabbie reportedly hollered at Alim.
It was only in the police station where the cabbie was able to know who was the person he had reportedly abused verbally.
Alim reportedly forgave the cabbie and didn't press any complaint. The two settled the row amicably, it was reported.
I don't believe that Alim, a lawyer, would use his authority to put the cabbie in bad light.
I know the city official since way back in the 90's when we were together in media, and he is not the type of person in authority who will throw his weight around.
Alim is one of the coolest public officials who won't even hurt a fly even if he has been insulted. The netizens who lambasted him without basis were wrong.