The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group on Sunday ordered its commanders to intensify the conduct of cyber patrolling and to validate all videos that have been circulating on social media.
PNP ACG chief Brig. Gen. Joel Doria also urged the public to be wary of posting and sharing information on their respective social media accounts to avoid being charged with violations of the Anti-Cybercrime Law.
Also on Sunday, Senator Jinggoy Estrada pushed his bill to create an inter-agency service to warn the public—particularly senior citizens who are targeted—against online scams.
Under Estrada’s Senate Bill 671, or the proposed Senior Citizens’ Fraud Education Act, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be the lead agency and would be supported by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health (DOH), and the Philippine Postal Corporation.
As more and more fake videos circulate on social media, Doria told police regional commanders to do the monitoring “with a stricter approach.”
“I appeal to the public not to easily believe videos or posts that you see online, especially if these posts have not been validated by your PNP. Your PNP ACG is working double time to ensure that the safety of every ‘Juan’ in cyberspace is attained.”
“To all spreaders of fake news, remember this: ‘We are watching you,’” Doria said in a statement on Sunday.
In another development, while the number of thefts and robberies has gone up, the total number of crimes recorded from January to August had gone down by 8 percent from the same period last year, the PNP said Sunday.
In an interview on radio dzBB, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said the total crime incidents and several index crimes –against persons and property—decreased from January to Aug. 15 this year.
However, theft increased by 8.62 percent this year, as well as robbery by .49 percent.
Commenting on recent abductions and killings reported in several parts of the country, Fajardo said many of these have already been solved.
Fajardo on Thursday said the PNP recorded 25 incidents of kidnapping from January to July 2022, most of which were related to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and that these have been resolved.