Senator Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to step up efforts to go after online scammers who proliferated and victimized many people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
More people are also complaining about fraudsters stealing their profiles and photos online.
Gatchalian said authorities should beef up their online presence to safeguard Filipinos against online scams and other related cybercrimes.
As more Filipinos spend most of their time online during this time of the pandemic, Gatchalian said cyber criminals take advantage of preying on vulnerable people as they seek out information and data on the internet to maximize revenue.
The senator called for stricter online monitoring by law enforcers as well as rigorous information dissemination on the latest online scams to ensure that potential victims will not fall prey to those who exploit the prevailing health crisis.
The senator noted the 100 percent increase in cybercrime activities in the country in April, particularly online scams through phishing as reported by the NBI Cybercrime Division.
American consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion reported in May 13, 2020 that suspected fraudulent digital transactions worldwide have increased from March to April this year.
Out of the 9,215 adults surveyed in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, India, South Africa, and the U.K., 29 percent of the respondents said they were targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19.
TransUnion also noted that millennials had been most targeted by fraudsters using COVID-19 scams.
Meanwhile, the NBI said it had filed murder and theft charges against two police officers and two unidentified suspects before the Department of Justice last May 29 for the killing of a son of former Congressman Salvador B. Britanico.
NBI Officer-In-Charge Eric Distor said the NBI-Death Investigation Division, filed the charges against Subjects PCpl. Jerry Villanueva, PCpl. Joseph Andrew Joven, and two unidentified males, for the death of Delfin Britanico, son of the congressman.
The victim sustained eight gunshot wounds on his head and on different parts of his body.
In a joint statement, they said "Today, 130 days after the shooting and murder in broad daylight of our dearest husband, father, son, brother, and family member Delfin Celestial Britanico on 19 January 2020 in Iloilo City, the criminal charges of murder and theft have been filed against four suspects.
“We ask that the Philippine National Police immediately place the identified suspects on restrictive custody and make them face the charges filed against them."
Administrative charges shall also be filed against these suspects with the National Police Commission (Napolcom).