Marcos to PNP: Counter cybercrime threat

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Monday issued marching orders for the Philippine National Police  (PNP) to address the threat posed by cybercrime.

Marcos issued the order during the oath-taking of star rank PNP officers in Malacañang Palace.

''Let us leverage on technology that aids protecting and serving our people. Especially in battling, for example, the latest threat that we have is cybercrime, where the emerging and evolving digital landscape faces threats that can undo its potential contribution to national growth,'' Marcos said in his speech.

The President said that all breaches in the digital correspondences and transactions are inimical to the people’s welfare and national interest. 

''We cannot allow electronic pickpocketing and all forms of robberies which are the digital equivalent of bag snatching,'' Marcos said.

''Cybercriminals also prey on the innocence of our young, by stealing their dignity, and the vulnerabilities of our seniors, who are defrauded of their life savings,'' the President added.

As his administration continues to strengthen efforts against cybercrime, Marcos said  the police would continue to train its personnel in combating cybercrime and enhance its cybersecurity capabilities.

Human rights violations

Meanwhile, without providing figures, Marcos said the incidents of human rights violations were ''down by half in 2023 as compared to 2022.''

He said this ''proves that rules that strengthen the fabric of our democracy, rules that our heroes had died for, rules that enshrined in our Constitution, are not inconveniences in policing but are in fact integral and indispensable in serving up justice.''

Still, Marcos said law enforcers should not be content with the current decrease in crime rates.

''While the statistics can be counted, and crime incidents reduced, even in their diminished state the disturbance they cause is still immeasurable.One crime is committed and one crime too many is having occurred,'' Marcos said.

''The war against crime cannot be won from war rooms with their glitzy monitors. They are won street by street, block by block, by guts by grit, by police officers who pound the beat, patrol the neighborhood whose people hold them in high esteem," he added.

Marcos also encouraged newly promoted officials of the police organization to work for the people “until the very last day, the last hour” of their service, and to not sit on their laurels.

“Each one of you will spend the last mile of your glorious journey not counting the days to your retirement but chalking up and receiving greater success, and showing off more achievements,” Marcos said.

“That is the only way that we can honor the trust that our people have given – to work for them until the very last day, the last hour, the last minute of your service. Do it so when it is time for you to troop the line for the last time, you go contented and comforted in the knowledge that you leave the service and the country a better place than what you found,” he added.—RF, GMA Integrated News