Together again: the in-person format re-launched

“IJM is excited to reintroduce on-site POSE trainings once again! We are back! IJM’s Atty. Nelisa Guevara-Garcia, IJM Philippines Director of National Prosecution Development, said in her welcome speech at the POSE (Prosecuting Online Sexual Exploitation) Advanced Training held on January 20-24, 2025, at the Gaugin Function Hall in Novotel Hotel, Quezon City.

Guests, speakers, and participants looked around the room excitedly. The Luzon cohort of the POSE Advanced training was the first group to experience an in-person POSE training after the pandemic.

Atty. Guevara-Garcia affirmed the significance of being together in the room, united in purpose—to protect children throughout the process of OSAEC investigation and prosecution and to ultimately put the crime to an end.

“IJM believes that prosecutors and law enforcers play crucial roles in the fight to end the online sexual abuse or exploitation of children (OSAEC) and child sexual abuse or exploitation materials (CSAEM) in the Philippines,” she said. “You ensure that the perpetrators of this horrible crime are held accountable. It is in recognition of this role that the POSE trainings take its grounding.”

IJM's Atty. Nelisa Guevara-Garcia (upper left), together with colleagues and speakers Atty. Joey Gumera, Atty. Raena Pabiona, and (bottom row) Atty. Kathleen Piccio-Labay, Atty. Praise Ladringan, and Atty. Ralph Catedral

“This year, even after the success of the POSE Fundamentals Self-Paced Online Trainings in 2024, IJM understands that there still is a clamor for in-person trainings that will take on a more in-depth approach that would constitute advanced topics and practical applications,” Atty. Guevara-Garcia continued.

The growing demand for POSE training

The POSE training series was first developed by IJM in collaboration with DOJ-IACAT in 2018. There was a need to train and support prosecutors and law enforcement authorities who frontliners in the fight against OSAEC and are tasked with holding perpetrators accountable. OSAEC cases are distinct from other cases. OSAEC is a technology-based crime, and victims and survivors are minors, with infants as young as 2 months at risk.

POSE trainings equipped prosecutors and law enforcement with the knowledge and skills to handle casework specific to this emerging crime and to ensure the welfare and safety of the child victims and survivors are safeguarded during the process. Initially conducted in-person, POSE trainings were developed into an online format to ensure continuity during the pandemic.

“It is worthy to note that POSE alumni have gone on to achieve convictions through both full trial and plea negotiations.…Police participants have also attributed successful rescue operations to the POSE training,” Atty. Guevara-Garcia noted. The POSE training series, which began in 2018, has trained 223 Public Prosecutors, 110 Law Enforcers, and 8 Anti Money-Laundering Council Officials. POSE trainings have contributed to 98 successful convictions from March 2018 to December 2024.

This much-awaited week-long POSE Advance, the inaugural post-pandemic in-person training, is a collaboration between IJM, the DOJ-IACAT, and the NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM (National Coordination Center Against OSAEC and CSAEM).

“Laging sinasabi (it is always said that) ‘Philippines is the global hotspot, the epicenter of OSAEC CSAEM’ and we want to erase that notion. And because of the efforts we are doing, the inter-agency efforts, including the private sector, we want to be known as the global leader in the fight against OSAEC and CSAEM,” said DRP Barbara Mae Flores, OIC-Executive Director NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM in her keynote presentation.

We want to be known as the global leader in the fight against OSAEC and CSAEM.

DRP Barbara Mae Flores, OIC-Executive Director NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM

The more members of our criminal justice system are trained, the closer we are to becoming the global leader in the fight to protect children from OSAEC and CSAEM.

Theory and practice: learning by doing

POSE Advanced is a series of in-depth modules that combine theory and practice covering subjects like fundamental legal principles, digital evidence and law enforcement reports, maximizing financial evidence, trauma-informed care, and child-protective strategies and tools. Speakers shared updates on the OSAEC landscape, emerging trends in the Philippines, and in Philippine law.

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The practical activities included analyzing a hypothetical case and conducting a mock trial in front of judges. Mock trials enabled participants to put principles into practice. Esteemed Regional Trial Court and Family Court judges took part in the session as mock trial judges.

The mock trial scenario was modelled after real-life OSAEC cases and incorporated the latest prosecution and investigation technologies used in these crimes, specifically Cyber Tipline Referrals, the victim’s Videotaped In-Depth Disclosure Interviews (VIDI) testimony, and financial evidence. Prosecutor participants had the opportunity to present directly or as defense attorneys, while law enforcement participants acted as witnesses. After the mock trial, the judges provided valuable feedback to the participants assigned to their group.

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Twenty-seven participants graduated from this training. Participants were prosecutors nominated by IJM and the NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM, and investigators and law enforcers nominated by the PNP ACG (Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Group), PNP WCPC (Philippine National Police – Women and Children Protection Center, and the NBI-HTRAD (National Bureau of Investigation – Human Trafficking Division). As a prerequisite to the Advanced training, before enrolling, each of the participants had either completed one of IJM’s POSE trainings (or similar trainings) or had previously investigated or prosecuted OSAEC cases in Luzon.

Prosecutors and law enforcement officers

The IJM team behind POSE Advanced

Acknowledgments

IJM is grateful for the prosecutors and law enforcers who invested their time in sharpening their swords for the continuing battle to end OSAEC, as well as all our colleagues and partners who contributed time and energy to share their expertise.

IJM wishes to especially thank the following:

• NCC-OSAEC-CSAEM
• PNP-ACG, PNP-WCPC, and NBI-HTRAD
• Our esteemed mock trial judges: Hon. Fernand 'CJ' Castro, Presiding Judge of RTC Branch 41 of Bacolod City, Family Court, Hon. Jasmin Guiuo-Diaz, Presiding Judge of the RTC Branch 12 of Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, and Hon. Romeo Dizon Tagra, Executive Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Marikina

We also thank our resource speakers for their valuable contributions.

Participant testimonials

Participants receiving their certificates at the end of the training

“I am very fortunate to be part of this seminar. The topics are well relatable to my current court assignment. The resource speakers are experts in their respective assigned topics with a touch of personal experiences and learnings.” - Pros. Ma. Luz Antonette Toyco-Tan

“The training was awesome. I have learned a lot about OSAEC, CSAEM, particularly its successful prosecution and best practices in plea bargaining and the use of VIDI.... The best training I have attended. Worth the time and effort spent in attending this training. Thank you.” - Pros. Mary May de Leoz

“Training programs designed to be interactive, hands-on exercises, case studies, and scenario-based training to help participants develop practical skills and expertise in prosecuting online sexual exploitation cases.” - Alyssa Mae Mata