Negros Or solon warns public of internet fraud

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  — Negros Oriental 1ST district Rep. Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong the other day told The Freeman about her concern over the rise of fraudulent activities in the internet.

“The increasing number of transactions over the internet has also increased the number of people taking advantage of the flaws in these transactions for personal gain,” Limkaichong said.

Last week, a student from a university in Dumaguete City asked the congresswoman’s assistance because he was allegedly robbed of P15,000 by a seller who sold him an iPad2 through the popular internet marketplace eBay.ph.

Limkaichong said that as much as the internet is helping turn many Filipinos into successful entrepreneurs, certain activities require some form of regulation to ensure safety and security of the public, both those who use and do not use the internet.

She said that the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have made it possible to easily spread malicious and slanderous rumors against individuals, most using fake identities that may be hard to trace.

“I was a victim of cyber bullying and cyber defamation,” Limkaichong said. “But I understood the motives of the person and I forgave her, however, this doesn’t mean that we should tolerate people from needlessly harassing and taking advantage of other people through the internet.”

Limkaichong also said the internet has made it easy to sexually exploit people. “The internet has given rise to cyber white slavery that exploits women, children, and even men,” she said.

Despite these concerns, Limkaichong articulated her reservations on the recently approved bill, Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, saying that if not implemented well the soon to be anti-cybercrime law could be prone to abuse, especially by people who are under the scrutiny of the public.

“Government has no way of controlling the internet without impeding our freedom as a people,” she said. “To ensure that we are all protected from the evils of the internet, we must all work together by reporting every incident of fraud, harassment, and exploitation through the internet.”

This form of public regulation would make government regulation of the internet unnecessary, she said, adding that what government can do is to come up with measures that would help protect its citizens against scrupulous and malicious individuals through the internet for their own selfish gains. “Without the cooperation of the public, these regulations would have no use,” she said.

Limkaichong said the urgency of the law is becoming more apparent with the increasing incidents of hacking and e-commerce fraud going on. “The law may not be perfect, but we can always find a way to make it work,” she said.

Early this month, two bills that would impact the country’s internet use—the Philippine Cybercrime Act of 2012 and the Data Privacy Act of 2012—were passed by the Congress’ bicameral committee, and were already transmitted to Malacañang for signing into law by President Benigno Aquino III.