Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Congressman Win Gatchalian has renewed his call for the restoration of the death penalty for convicted pedophiles, particularly those engaged in torture and sexual assault of children as well as child pornography.
Gatchalian made the call following reports that a 73-year-old former Belgian mayor had been arrested and charged by the National Bureau of Investigation for molesting at least 20 Filipinas.
The NBI said Prosper Slachmuylders was charged with child abuse, child pornography, and child trafficking before the Bohol provincial prosecutor’s office on June 27 after he was nabbed in an entrapment operation at his home in Barangay Soom in Trinidad.
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“It’s about time that Congress re-examine the death penalty in the light of reports on the gravity of pedophilia operations in the country. Convicted pedophiles deserve the death penalty because of their dastardly acts against Filipino children,” the Valenzuela City Congressman said.
Gatchalian observed that the Philippines remains to be a favorite hunting ground for poor children who are used as objects of sadistic and pornographic videos that are being financed by a worldwide syndicate, with members coming from Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The arrest of a Dutch national in the Netherlands last year on charges of child exploitation has traced the operations of child pornography in the Philippines which uses girls ages 1 to 12 who are not only forced to perform sexual acts but are also tortured to death.
Gatchalian noted that arrested pedophiles in the past were able to post bail and continue with their criminal activities because of the loopholes not only in the existing laws but also in the judicial system where corruption is known to exist.
He cited the case of Douglas Slade, 73, a wealthy founder of the vilified Paedophile Information Exchange, which campaigned for child sex in the 1970s. Slade has been repeatedly arrested for taking nude photos and molesting underage boys in the Philippines.
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“Slade is a notorious pedophile with a history of arrests. He repeatedly had child sex charges against him dropped and was caught on camera in an ITV documentary in 1995 boasting that he could avoid conviction by bribing prosecutors and the families of victims,” said Gatchalian.
Gatchalian said the Philippine government should seriously address the problem of pedophilia and child exploitation and sexual abuse by supporting the move to reimpose the death penalty.
The solon noted that even the Catholic Church is decisively moving against pedophile priests with no less than Pope Francis excommunicating convicted pedophile Argentine priest Jose Mercau, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2011 after admitting to sexually abusing four teenagers. (R. Burgos)
