Dumaguete City Vice Mayor William Ablong yesterday lauded the filing of a bill in the House of Representatives that would impose stiffer penalties on those involved in pornographic and sex trafficking activities.

House Bill No. 4996 filed by Partylist Rep. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva proposes to increase the penalty to P1 million and life imprisonment for persons confirmed to be engaged in obscene, pornographic and immoral activities.

Ablong said many Filipino women are being exploited by unscrupulous persons engaged in the sex trade. Majority of them have been forced into prostitution because of poverty, he added. He said he will be happy to such persons imprisoned for their immoral activities.

Ablong is an official of the Couples for Christ in Oriental Negros and a sponsor of the anti-pornography ordinance in Sangguniang Panlungsod.

Villanueva, in the proposed measure, wants to update the existing laws to be consistent with the advances in technology, which, he said, are being exploited by those in the flesh trade.

Villanueva also said the series of operations by the Philippine National Police against pornographic materials that has led into the filing of cases against operators had little impact on the continuing proliferation of indecent publications and activities, particularly those featuring children.

To make things worse, he added, advances in technology have contributed to the upsurge of pornography in the country.*RG

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