Incoming DICT Chief Wants Better Digital Police

The Philippines needs to bolster its “digital police” amid the proliferation of online scammers, incoming Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary Ivan John Uy said.

Uy said the three agencies under the DICT – the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Cybercrime Investigation Coordinating Center and the National Privacy Commission – work together in order to address this growing issue of scamming using text message or social media.

“Criminals are also becoming digital and learning how to cheat or commit other types of cybercrimes on the network,” he said at a recent public briefing.

Uy said law enforcement agencies need additional training on digital fraud.

“We need to build up a better digital police or a digital NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) that can go after these cyber criminals,” he said.

“So, we need more training and we need to select the right people in order to be able to do this properly,” he added.

The Global Consumer Pulse study of global information and insights company TransUnion released last year showed an increase in digital fraud attempts against businesses and consumers in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Uy said the DICT, under the administration of president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., would also enhance “e-governance” to simplify access to government services.

“So, we are looking at streamlining, reducing red tape and minimizing queues at various government offices,” he said, noting that some individuals would need to go on leave from their jobs just to process documents.