MANILA, Philippines– The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is seeking P300 million in confidential funds in 2024 to be used against cybercrime and scammers.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, September 13, DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said that going after scammers, which is part of the mandate of the agency, requires “all the resources possible.”

“The confidential fund is essential in order to conduct intel and investigation in order to go after these criminals,” Uy said.

“Nakatali ang ating mga kamay kung wala po tayong proper tools in order to go after them, many of these tools and many of these methodologies require confidential funds.”

(Our hands are tied if we don’t have the proper tools to go after them and many of these tools and many of these methodologies require confidential funds.)

Text scams have been a sticky issue especially during the peak of the pandemic. The government rolled out SIM registration to address this, but the process has gaps. The National Bureau of Investigation even told lawmakers that a photo of a monkey can be used to register a SIM card.

Recall that DICT was flagged by economic managers for having the lowest budget utilization rates. The agency was required to submit a “catch-up” plan no later than September 15. –Rappler.com

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