President Marcos has instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide more advanced anti-cybercrime training for police personnel in order to maximize the protection of netizens from online scammers and other cybercriminals.
The President issued the directive during the command conference at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Thursday, Dec. 12, which was attended by top police officials led by PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil.
“Recognizing the growing threat in the digital landscape, the President underscored the importance of equipping the PNP with the necessary skills and tools to combat cybercrime effectively,” said Marbil.
While cybercrime cases being reported to the PNP has been declining in the past months, Marbil said there is a need to add more teeth in the campaign against criminals through the necessary equipment and training of personnel.
The PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group is the lead police unit in running after cybercriminals.
In his assumption speech in April this year, Marbil declared his interest in maximizing the use of information and communications technology in what he described as an integral part of modern policing.
He vowed to place utmost importance on police community engagement that includes the use of emerging technology and social media.
“To begin, we shall prioritize integrating the PNP secured mobile artificial intelligence driven in real time smart policing program and ICT development roadmap in our operations, including an active drive to recruit and train a new generation of police officers and support staff with technical expertise and specialized IT skills,” said Marbil in his speech.
In the meantime, Marbil said the present and future members of the PNP must be equipped with the skills in enhancing the power of social media and technology as effective tools for efficient law enforcement.
Recently, Marbil vowed to push for a five year development plan that will focus on exploring and integrating new technology in law enforcement, including artificial intelligence.
“We have to invest in AIs right now because the new development right now is more AIs. AI will be of big help in crime prevention and crime solution,” said Marbil.