TWO SENATORS on Thursday filed a resolution seeking to amend the country’s cybercrime law to keep up with the proliferation of illegal activities using digital platforms, following fake online orders that were addressed to opposition officials.
Senator Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, one of the victims, and Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon filed Senate Resolution 953 that calls to address the increasing frequency of online fraud and disinformation while the current law “falls short of the realities of the times, particularly the rise of social media platforms.”
“The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 was passed when social media platforms and other applications were still smaller than what the giants they are today,” they said in the resolution, noting that platforms such as TikTok, Grab Food, Lalamove, among others, were not yet established at that time.
“As technology and social media platforms become more and more integrated into the everyday lives of Filipinos, there is a need to review the country’s existing criminal laws,” it added.
Mr. Pangilinan earlier said that his office received a message that P90,000-worth of frozen meat and wine, which they had not ordered, would be delivered to them.
Similar incidents were reported by Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel and Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo.
The National Bureau of Investigation said that people who book fake orders by posing as someone else could face six to 12 years of imprisonment for identity theft. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan