Fourteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
REPUBLIC ACT No. 9775
AN ACT DEFINING THE CRIME OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, PRESCRIBING PENALTIES
THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009."
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation building
and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, psychological
and social well-being. Towards this end, the State shall:
(a) Guarantee the fundamental rights of every child from all forms of neglect, cruelty and
other conditions prejudicial to his/her development;
(b) Protect every child from all forms of exploitation and abuse including, but not limited to:
(1) the use of a child in pornographic performances and materials; and
(2) the inducement or coercion of a child to engage or be involved in pornography
through whatever means; and
(c) Comply with international treaties to which the Philippines is a signatory or a State party
concerning the rights of children which include, but not limited to, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child of the
Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the International
Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No.182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labor and the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Section 3. Definition of Terms. (a) "Child" refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or over, but is unable to fully
take care of himself/herself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or discrimination
because of a physical or mental disability or condition.
For the purpose of this Act, a child shall also refer to:
(1) a person regardless of age who is presented, depicted or portrayed as a child as
defined herein; and
(2) computer-generated, digitally or manually crafted images or graphics of a person
who is represented or who is made to appear to be a child as defined herein.
(b) "Child pornography" refers to any representation, whether visual, audio, or written
combination thereof, by electronic, mechanical, digital, optical, magnetic or any other means,
of child engaged or involved in real or simulated explicit sexual activities.