Prosecutors and investigators from six countries, including the United States and the Philippines have attended a three-day regional counterterrorism conference in Cebu City from Jan. 28 to 30 intended to enhance regional cooperation and share best practices in probing and prosecuting terrorism.
Hosted by the US Embassy in the Philippines Department of Justice Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, the South East Asia Regional Experts Exchange was attended by 34 prosecutors and investigators from the US, Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bangladesh.
US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, a former prosecutor himself, opened the conference noting,
“When we cooperate to stop terrorists from traveling, from gaining audiences on social media, and we prosecute the flow of terrorist financing, we cripple terrorist operations without a shot being fired…it is critical that law enforcement entities embrace new investigative tools and cooperate across national borders,” Kim said, in his speech.
The practitioners, including US.experts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice, discussed the use of digital forensics in terrorism cases and social media’s role in terrorism financing.