SEN. Richard Gordon has filed a resolution calling for an inquiry on the increasing cybertheft incidents in the country, the latest of which victimized teachers and other personnel of the Department of Education who had unauthorized withdrawals from their bank accounts.
Gordon said Senate Resolution No. 987 calls on the appropriate committee to investigate, in aid of legislation, the rising cases of money disappearing from bank accounts of government employees.
“The Senate must spearhead an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on strengthening existing pertinent legislation on cybersecurity in close cooperation with law enforcement… to adequately protect the Filipino people, particularly those most vulnerable and the financial security of their persons and families essentially relying on our collective cybersecurity,” Gordon said.
Gordon cited a recent report regarding complaints from DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel about unauthorized withdrawals from their payroll accounts in the Land Bank of the Philippines.
They said they were not victims of a “phishing” scam.
Phishing is defined as the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers.
Benjo Basas, Teachers’ Dignity Coalition chair, in an interview, said that 20 teachers and DepEd personnel reported unauthorized transactions in their Land Bank accounts, with the amount of money lost ranging from P160,000 to P200,000.
Gordon said that the state must serve and protect the Filipino people now that criminals are using technology to pilfer from the people’s savings.
“The Senate is compelled to act on the vicious commission of cybercrimes against the Filipino people, particularly against teachers and other public servants, private employees, and businesses taking away their hard-earned savings, violating their financial security, assaulting their cybersecurity, and disregarding their rights,” he said.
Gordon also cited the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which states the need to protect and safeguard the integrity of computer and computer systems, networks, and databases from misuse, abuse, and illegal access.
The Department of Trade and Industry-Consumer Protection Group has reported that there has been a surge in the number of online transaction complaints, with 10,323 complaints in the first half of 2020.
It may be recalled that Gordon warned of the same incidents against Social Security Service (SSS) members who have been victimized in similar fashion.
Due to the crimes, Gordon urged his counterparts in the House of Representatives to expedite passage of a bill mandating subscriber identification module (SIM) card registration.
“Once there is an enabling law that mandates telecom companies to screen and record every SIM card owner’s pertinent details, we can make sure that the numbers linked to crimes will make them responsible under the full extent of the law,” Gordon said.
