The Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Department of Justice have signed an agreement to work together in raising cybersecurity awareness and curbing cybercrimes in the country.
BAP president Jose Arnulfo Veloso and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra signed the memorandum of understanding at a virtual ceremony Friday.
Under the accord, BAP will organize public awareness information campaigns, events, and activities, including free learning sessions, with the DOJ to share insights on the latest trends and development on cybersecurity.
“Today’s signing of the memorandum of understanding between the Bankers Association of the Philippines and the Department of Justice represents the strengthening of the partnership between our two institutions in promoting cybersecurity,” Veloso said in his remarks during the signing ceremony.
“It is, in its intent and purposes, an alliance between an entire industry and the government in the common goal of protecting the banking public in cyberspace,” the BAP chief said.
For his part, Justice chief Guevarra said the MOU between the DOJ and BAP “will establish a solid framework and promote a genuine atmosphere of collaboration and alliance through an effective and efficient partnership meant to at least minimize, if not totally prevent, cybercrime and cyber-related offenses nationwide.”
“Through this MOU, both parties are assured to be kept abreast of the latest developments in cybersecurity to better protect the banking industry and the general public from fraudulent activities in cyberspace. This, we believe, will help strengthen the banking industry’s resilience and the government’s capability to protect the public against cyber attacks,” Guevarra said.
Gevarra, citing a report by the BAP’s Cybersecurity Committee, said the banking fraud damage during the pandemic reached P1 billion in terms of unauthorized withdrawals and illegal transfers.
“It is a well-known fact that incidents of cybercrime increase significantly during the pandemic, especially for financial-related cybercrimes, such as online fraud and phishing emails,” Guevarra said.
The MOU aims to strengthen the banking industry’s cyber-resilience and develop a collaborative partnership with the DOJ to achieve a collective, coordinated, and strategic cyber response through information sharing and collaboration.
“The most effective deterrent against cybercrimes is a no-holds bar enforcement and prosecution that will put these cybercriminals in jail for good. The BAP and DOJ are unified in this mission,” Veloso said.
“We will continue to work together with the DOJ to keep ourselves abreast on the latest news and developments in cybersecurity and take strong action against cybercriminals. The urgent need for effective enforcement and prosecution is what convinced us in the BAP to partner with the DOJ. Similarly, we vow to boost our cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate and prevent the public from falling prey to scams and online fraud,” Veloso added.