PLDT and Smart Communications have strengthened their campaign against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC) by recruiting more educators, community workers, and child rights advocates as partners.
Marking Safer Internet Day in February, the telecom firms conducted digital safety sessions in schools and communities, stressing that protecting children online requires a whole-of-nation effort involving parents, teachers, and institutions.
In partnership with the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse, PLDT and Smart trained teachers and counselors in Quezon City to detect and respond to online risks, including phishing and suspicious online behavior. Educators also viewed episodes of the #BeCYBERSMART series featuring real-life cases of online abuse and scams.
The initiative was extended to schools supported by the Asian Development Bank under the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School Program, in collaboration with Khan Academy.
On the technology front, PLDT and Smart reported blocking over one million attempts to access child sexual abuse materials in 2025. Their cybersecurity systems also stopped more than 210 billion attempts to open malicious domains during the same period. Since 2021, over two million URLs linked to illegal child content have been blacklisted.
The expanded partnerships highlight growing support for stronger action against child online predators, combining cybersecurity investments with grassroots education to help keep Filipino children safe online.
