PNP says to focus on cybercrime as among 'greatest threats' to Filipinos
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police will be focusing on cybercrimes in 2023, Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., PNP chief, said Monday as he called them among "the greatest threats" that Filipinos face.
Azurin made the announcement after releasing crime data collected from July 2022 to Jan. 7, 2023, or the period since President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. took office.
"This year, the PNP shall focus on cybercrimes since [these are] now the fastest-growing transnational organized crimes which affect hundreds of victims not only in the Philippines, but in other parts of the world," he said.
The police Anti-Cybercrime Group has been issuing advisories to warn the public against threats like malware and ransomware. In late 2022, it also launched operations against an unauthorized online lending agency that also subjected borrowers to public humiliation and harassment for unpaid loans as well as scammers who defrauded buyers over online purchases.
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Several Filipinos have also been reported to have been illegally recruited and trafficked through fraudulent job listings on Facebook. Promised jobs at call centers and data encoders, the migrant Filipinos ended up in cyberscam operations in Myanmar.
Mobile phone users also received a barrage of scam text messages in 2022, which led to the swift passage of the SIM Card Registration Act. Mandatory SIM card registration has been touted as a way to curb the scams but has also raised concerns on privacy rights and possible surveillance.
Azurin said cybercrimes are one of the "greatest threats to [millions of] users on cyberspace who have entrusted their personal data online."
He said the PNP will "further enhance anti-criminality capacity" and use "secure mobile artificial intelligence-driven real time technology" against online criminals. The police will also employ a "strategic approach that incorporates more science into police operations by leveraging innovative applications or analysis and technology and evidence-based practices" in carrying out its duties, he said.
Index crimes down by 8.03%
In the same briefing, Azurin said incidences of crime went down to 105,568 from July 2022 to January 7, 2023 against 112,746 in the comparable period in 2021. Index crimes — those against persons, such as murder, homicide, physical injury and rape and against property, like theft and cattle rustling — have also gone down by 8.03% to 19,484 in the same period, the PNP chief said.
Despite the lower numbers, theft (6,682), rape (3,762) , and physical injury (2,608) were the most frequently reported crimes in the recording period.
Non-index crimes were also down 5.98% to 86,089 although the PNP noted a 9.05% increase in those in the Visayas at 17,199 incidents against 15,771 in the comparable period.
Crime clearance — when at least one suspect has been identified and charged either at the prosecutor's office or in court — efficiency was relatively unchanged at 97.19% against 97.93%.
Crime solution — when a suspect has been identified and charged and has been taken into custody — efficiency was meanwhile at 81.78% against 80.51% in the comparable period. — Jonathan de Santos
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