Philippines: kiddie porn reform is urgent

Dear Editor

I am a Filipina professional married abroad and active in protecting children rights I know the work and writings of Father Shay Cullen. Good for Speroforum to share his important writings promoting the rights of women and children. In response to the Kiddy Porn article its ridiculous for Alan Dale Edmunds to attack Fr.Cullen for revealing the evil of child porn being distributed in my country. It happens openly because there is no law to prohibit it already. Edmunds wants to cover it up. He has a dark history.

I have received copies of e-mails spam sent by this American Alan Dale Edmunds and replies of an Atty Blake sent by Edmunds to Irish supporters of the child protection agency preda.org set up by Father Cullen which I support, Fr.Cullen has been nominated thrice for the Nobel Prize.

Edmunds an a retired US serviceman living in the Philippines,a convicted felon,the emails he made public on the Internet points out that Edmunds has been convicted in the Philippines for malicious prosecution of a Government prosecutor who brought charges against Edmund's son and friend for sexual abusing his 7 year sister after the son and his friend viewed the pornographic videos of Edmunds.He is such a hypocrite,allowing kids to view porn. When Preda gave protection to the 7 year old Edmunds falsely prosecuted Preda to divert attention from his son's crime and his own neglect of his daughter. His charges against Preda were proven to be fabricated and dismissed. (www.preda.org/legal)

Exposing the evil of kiddy porn is the only way to get the public to react including the Philippine bishops ,I hope that sister will get the American Bishops to speak out against sex tourism of Americans.

Amber Matthews

by Amber Matthews | Friday, July 10, 2009  7:52:03 PM  |  Report

Please keep fighting to stop the exploitation of minors. Unlawful images are a problem worldwide, not just in the Philippines and improved laws will help to fight the problem.

http://www.kardasz.org/Unlawful_Images_are_Serious_Crimes.html

by Dr. Frank Kardasz | Friday, July 10, 2009  4:17:57 PM  |  Report

Just like Sister Maureen Paul Turlish, I find this article to be incomprehensible! Why did these 'reporters' not report the offer of this child for sexual services to the local Police? Just because 'some' Police Officers 'looked on' does not mean all Police in the Philippines are complicit in this terrible trade. If the reporters have a DVD depicting a clearly visible English man abusing a child, why has this not been passed to the FBI/Interpol to hunt him down? Did they realise that they too were committing a terrible crime in buying and watching this DVD and further funding this horrid activity?
I have visited the Philippines many times in my life. I have been offered DVD after DVD but never once have I been offered one of this nature! They must have searched very hard indeed!
The article portrays the Philippines as incapable of addressing this problem without this bill. Believe me, a Filipino community would be equally (if not more so) incensed to discover peadophilic activity within their communties.
And just like Sister Maureen, I am horrified to read an article that will only be perecieved by peadophiles as an invite to visit the Philippines and gorge themselves with impunity.
Shameful journalism in the extreme.

by James Williamson | Friday, July 10, 2009  5:01:33 AM  |  Report

Shay Cullen,

Do I understand you correctly? You say -

"The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has yet to support this important bill and urge the president to mark it as urgent. I HAVE EVERY CONFIDENCE THEY WILL. Then, when passed, the abusers can be brought to justice. The video taken by the journalists showed a Caucasian 10 year-old blond girl being sexually-abused, they reported. This kind of child pornography entices Caucasian sex tourists to seek children to abuse in their home countries. In another clip, they said, an Asian child was being abused by a Caucasian man with a British accent and he is fully recognizable."

Is there a particular reason that the Catholic Bvishops Conference of the Philippines has withheld their support "ON THIS IMPORTANT BILL?"

There will be no justice for childhood victims of sexual abuse by anyone until ALL CRIMINAL AND CIVIL STATUTES OF LIMITATION ARE REMOVED. Ideally, a CIVIL WINDOW which allows previously time barred cases of seuxal abuse to be brought forward would be the ideal.

IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE all CRIMINAL AND CIVIL STATUTES OF LIMITATION have now been removed AND we instituted a TWO YEAR CIVIL WINDOW which actually closes TODAY.

Along with a very few religious leaders, I testified in support of DELAWARE'S CHILD VICTIMS' LAW before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. The institutional Roman Catholic Church and specifically the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware opposed it.

Do not presume that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines will support this needed legislation. There was a time when I thought support from the institutional RCC was a given in this area. I found that not to be the case.

Clericalism and its Code of Secrecy has put many thousands of children in harm's way because bishops did not deal appropriately with sexually abusive priests.

Visit:

www.bishopaccountability.org
www.votf.org
www.napsac.us
www.childvictimsvoice.com
www.votfgp.org
www.americancatholiccouncil.org

Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
Victims' Advocate
New Castle, Delaware

by Sister Maureen Paul Turlish | Thursday, July 09, 2009  9:40:25 AM  |  Report

Shay Cullen advertises the Philippines as a sex haven for tourists and disguises the advertising as a plea for help through campaigns.

Consider: In this article alone, he sites an example of an illegal act looked on by nearby police, but does not site the names of the perpetrators of the crime, nor does he file charges against them! Instead, he tells the whole world how easy it is to get children for sex!

Frankly, I find his style of writing an insult to the better Filipinos and an insult to the government of the Philippines.

For more than thirty years he has "campaigned" to remove prostitution and sex with minors from children by such drivel, and what has it gotten? Certainly nothing more than honors and donations for him and nothing to stem the tide of such evil doers.

by Alan Dale Edmonds | Thursday, July 09, 2009  5:26:26 AM  |  Report