QUEZON City, Philippines -- The long-overdue draft of a cybecrime bill being put together by various stakeholders in government and the private sector will be ready before Congress resumes sessions, the top official of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) said.

CICT chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III said a technical working group is “refining” the provisions of the anti-cybercrime bill that combines various bills in Congress filed by lawmakers.

“They [technical working group] has committed to me that they will have the bill ready by next week before the State of the Nation of Address during the resumption of Congress,” Chua said.

The cybercrime bill hopes to further strengthen existing laws that criminalize activities related to hacking or activities that use technology to commit a crime, he said.

The bill will specifically promote international cooperation among countries, which is crucial in prosecuting cybercrime. Cybercrime is increasingly becoming committed by individuals or groups with criminal content from different geographic locations, he said.

Roxas-Chua added that there is a need to foster cooperation among countries affected by it.

Last week, State Prosecutor Geronimo Sy said the technical working group is looking at including additional provisions in the draft cybercrime bill.

Sy said the TWG has taken a "step back" to consider integrating provisions of an Internet Piracy Act filed at the House of Representatives.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the CICT are part of the TWG that has been working on the cybercrime bill, which incorporates provisions set during the Budapest convention on cybercrime.

The CICT and the DoJ have been working on the cybercrime bill since last year. There are at least four versions of the cybercrime bill filed with the House of Representatives.

The cybercrime bill would contain definitions of cybercrime, punishment of such crimes and provisions on cooperation with the international community, among others.

Last year, the DoJ created a task force to deal with cybersecurity issues in legislation and investigation. The group was created to pursue the e-government agenda, institutionalize a cybersecurity regime and implement laws. The task force worked closely with the Council of Europe, a private organization, and local experts composed of IT practitioners and other stakeholders.

Among the top priorities of the group was to work for the passage of the cybercrime prevention act, which failed to pass in the previous Congress. The task force was expected to work with the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

Also last year, the CICT, DoJ and the Council of Europe agreed to work together on the cybercrime bill.