Navotas lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco is supporting President Marcos’ move to reallocate P500 million from the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s fund to the restoration of its information technology (IT) programs, including the improvement the country’s emergency hotline.

Tiangco, chairman of House Committee on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), on Friday, Jan. 24, says that cyberspace is a rapid changing landscape, and that the country needs to ensure that law enforcement agencies are always up to date.

He expressed full support to Marcos’ move as he stressed that it promotes transparency in government while equipping the PNP to combat cybercrimes and address cybersecurity challenges.

"I fully support the president's decision because it ensures the PNP is prepared to tackle threats like phishing, scams, and identity theft while promoting accountability," Tiangco said.

Citing data from the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Tiangco noted that 7.2 percent of Filipino families fell victim to cybercrimes in September last year.

"Maya't-maya makakarinig ka ng reklamo na na-hack, na-scam, o na-phish. Napapanahon at kailangan talaga nating mag-invest sa IT programs ng ating kapulisan (We often hear complaints of hacking, scamming or phishing. It's timely and necessary for us to invest in the IT programs of our police agency)," he added.

He also underscored the importance of improving the PNP’s 911 system, as he noted that a significant number of emergency hotline requests were pranks.

"Nakakalungkot dahil majority ng tumatawag sa ating 911 centers ay prank calls (It's saddening that the majority of calls received by our 911 hotline are pranks calls). Apart from enforcing sanctions and penalties for prank callers, we need a system that deters such actions and ensures faster emergency responses," Tiangco said.

He expressed hope that the reallocated funds will help develop an Integrated National 911 System to enhance emergency services.