Abalos orders PNP to step up drive vs cybercriminals


Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Benhur Abalos ordered on Monday, July 11, the Philippine National Police (PNP) to step up the campaign against cybercrime amid reports of increasing incidents of crimes committed online, particularly scamming.

In a speech during the Flag-Raising Ceremony at Camp Crame in Quezon City, Abalos said he expects the cybercrime to continue to rise as more people are connected to the internet through their gadgets.

“While I was reading news, cybercrimes are on the rise and probably this is because of the pandemic, and this includes cyber pornography,” said Abalos.

“So please inform what equipment you need, if it requires seminar or to further study then let’s do it,” he added.

The official said the PNP should also inform him if more technical people should be hired in order to strengthen the investigative and operational capability of the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group.

But he emphasized that the strengthening of the PNP’s capability against cybercrime must also focus on information dissemination to protect the public from crimes being committed through the internet, especially social media.

According to the police, cybercriminals have stepped up their illegal activities especially during the pandemic when more people became active online because of the long lockdowns.

The PNP has been supportive of the need to register SIM card as one of the measures to prevent cybercriminals from continuously hiding under anonymity, especially in the social media. 

Former President Duterte, however, vetoed the SIM Card Registration Act.