SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Thursday warned all Filipino and foreigners who abuse children that justice will catch up with them and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Hontiveros made the warning following the conviction of pedophile Peter Gerard Scully and his cohorts.

Judge Ali Joseph Ryan Lloren of the Regional Trial Court Branch 37 of Misamis Oriental sentenced Scully to 129 years imprisonment for child sex abuse.

“We also laud our brave law enforcers who first captured Scully and his co-accused to hold them to account. Our fight against human trafficking and Online Sexual Abuse and Expolitation Against Children is only becoming more complex due to the nature of digital platforms. Perpetrators have exploited the interconnectedness of our world. Scully himself recorded and uploaded his exploitative materials online, while sadly being aided and abetted by locals,” Hontiveros said.

The senator said the case highlights the importance of implementing the Anti-OSAEC Law and supporting the Expanded Anti Trafficking Act of 2022.

The Anti-OSAEC Law, which Hontiveros authored, imposes additional duties on internet service providers, social media networks and online financial intermediaries and requires them to be more proactive in preventing and reporting OSAEC cases, including those perpetrated by criminals acting anonymously.

Meanwhile, the Expanded Anti Trafficking Act of 2022 empowers enforcers to be more agile in surveillance and entrapment operations.

“Child abuse, human trafficking, and all its permutations, will never be tolerated in the Philippines. Let’s continue to work together to guarantee that every Filipino child grows up in a safe community,” the senator said.