By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group has been directed to intensify its campaign against criminal activities using online gaming apps.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. made the directive after authorities flagged the popular online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly being used in the exploitation of children.
“Our mandate of serving and protecting the people now encompasses cyberspace to keep them safe, especially for children. This is what modern policing also means, and your PNP has been keeping up,” he said in a news release Sunday.
He said the PNP has been coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to probe Roblox’s alleged illegal activities, “including sexual predation, grooming, and exploitation of minors.”
Nartatez said the PNP’s campaign is not limited to Roblox, as other online gaming and social platforms are also under close surveillance.
On March 16, the CICC partnered with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission to boost the country’s fight against digital organized crime, particularly illicit online gambling.
The partnership was inked 12 days after the CICC announced a separate tie-up with Digital Pinoys in a month-long documentation and verification of illegal gambling sites, applications, and their promoters as part of criminal and administrative cases to be filed by government authorities.
The findings were handed over to the PNP-ACG, and suspects will face charges under the Cybercrime Prevention Act and other violations, such as syndicated estafa. (PNA)
