PNP to step up campaign vs cyberbullying among youth

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police will intensify its campaign against cyberbullying among youth on social media platforms, as ordered by its chief Gen. Archie Gamboa.

In a statement on Sunday, the PNP said Gamboa ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group to step up its campaign against cyberbullying.

This is after the PNP-ACG investigated 19 cyberbullying cases from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 as part of the campaign under the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.

“With the surge of technological advancements, cybercrimes became one of the most prevalent modus nowadays. Oftentimes, cyberbullying is used by unscrupulous individuals to prey on the youth,” Gamboa said.

He also urged parents to report incidents of cyberbullying.

“We urge our parents to monitor if there are changes in their child’s behavior. Should they confirm that their child has been victimized by a cyberbully or an online scammer, I encourage them to immediately identify the perpetrator and report it to the authorities,” he added.

Under the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013,  all elementary and secondary schools are required to adopt policies to prevent and address the acts of bullying in their institutions.

PNP-ACG noted that cyberbullying complaints are expected to increase as victims become aware of how to report it by means of a new reporting system through social media, phone numbers, and emails.

The PNP-ACG and its Regional Anti-Cybercrime Units created official Facebook pages that cater complaints and reports of any cases of cybercrimes including cyberbullying, fake news proliferation, online scams, online photo and video voyeurism, and others.

“Aside from our frontliner operations against COVID-19 pandemic, we also intensified our cyber patrol operations and monitoring system against cybercrimes on social media and other interactive websites,” Gamboa said.

JE