Devanadera has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into possible violations of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 by the website operator.
The action follows closely on the heels of a proposal in the Philippine House of Representatives for tighter regulations and restrictions on online adult content.
Rep. Marcelino Teodoro proposed the Anti-Cybersex Act of 2007 on Friday, which would impose imprisonment and hefty fines upon its violators. Teodoro’s bill would reinforce provisions of the Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, also known as Republic Act No. 7160.
According to Teodoro, that act currently does not provide sufficient protection to victims of child pornography, and no law on the books in the Philippines does enough to restrict online access to sexually explicit content.
In early September, Senator Loren Legarda proposed a bill to the Philippine Senate urging tighter restrictions on adult websites, and called also for BoyBastos.com to be shut down and investigated further by the NBI and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).
The attention brought by Sen. Legarda’s call for action was the primary reason for the operators of BoyBastos.com to shut down the site.
“In view of the call of Senator Loren Legarda for the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to close down the online pornography website BoyBastos.com, the IACAT seeks the assistance of the Anti-Human Trafficking Division and the Computer Fraud Division of the NBI to look into the allegations for the possible violation of Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and other related laws and to act thereon accordingly,” Devanadera said.
The BoyBastos.com website was not accessible at post time.