THE Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is coordinating with the Japanese government in its investigation of the hoax bomb threats received by several government agencies in the past weeks after the email used in making threats was traced back to Japan.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO), citing a report of the CICC, said “efforts are now on the way to request the Japanese government to investigate thoroughly and identify the sender.”
Several government agencies and local government units (LGUs) received bomb threats that were sent through emails, among them the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) head office in Quezon City, the Department of Education (DepEd) division office in Bataan, and the local government of Iba in Zambales.
“There is no cause for alarm as this sender and email has been tagged as (a) hoax,” the CICC said.
But advised the affected government agencies to practice their respective emergency evacuation procedures as part of their preparedness efforts and emergency protocols.
Last week, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the Chinese government has reached out to the Philippines to help in its investigations of the attempted hacking of government websites and emails, including that of President Marcos Jr. after it was traced to China.
DICT said the Philippines is open to working with everybody since those behind the attacks are everywhere.
DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said that there are a lot of crime organizations, mercenaries and cyberhackers who engage in these illegal activities which makes the coordination among different countries to work together and go after these groups important.
PROBE STARTS
The Bureau of Immigration yesterday announced the initiation of an investigation on the alleged Japanese man who sent bomb threats to government offices.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the probe seeks to uncover the identity of the sender.
The bomb threats were sent via email from a certain Takahiro Karasawa.
Tansingco said they will work with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice to determine whether the suspect is in the country.
“We will also be verifying if this is his real identity, or if he is a prankster using a fictitious name,” he said, adding they would immediately be able to implement hold orders, blacklist orders, or arrest warrants issued against the suspect if the latter is in the country.
“The national government is not taking this lightly. Any security threat shall be met with the harshest penalties of the law,” he added.
Tansingco said that a quick check of their database revealed at least four namesakes of Takahiro, who are all not in the country.
NBI Director Medardo de Lemos also ordered a probe on the bomb threat, adding it is coordinating with other agencies.
De Lemos said they are coordinating with the police attache of the Japanese Embassy in Manila to determine if Takahiro is indeed a Japanese or just a pseudo name, as he has been “associated with previous bomb threats across different countries.”
“This alarming pattern emphasizes the need for immediate and decisive action,” the NBI chief said, adding the agency is taking the bomb threats seriously.
De Lemos also urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities or information to law enforcement authorities.
Last Monday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the NBI to probe the bomb threats against several government agencies.
It was not the first time Takahiro made bomb threats to government agencies.
In September last year, the Metro Rail Transit 3 also received a similar threat from him. — With Ashzel Hachero
