The Philippine National Police (PNP) firmly denied reports claiming that cybercrime cases have increased in the Philippines over the past months.
PNP Spokesperson PBGen. Jean Fajardo stated that, contrary to reports, crimes recorded by the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) decreased from January to the second quarter of the year.
"Nabalitaan ko din yan na kahapon naglabas ng survey ang SWS na meron pong pagtaas ng cybercrime cases sa ating bansa. So kanina ay nag coordinate ako sa ACG to confirm na totoo ba yung lumabas," Fajardo said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
The Social Weather Stations (SWS) initially released survey results showing a significant rise in victims of cybercrime cases.
According to SWS, the percentage of families affected by cyber-related crimes increased from 3.7 percent to 7.2 percent from June to September.
In the report presented by Fajardo, it was shown that in the 1st quarter of the year, 4,354 cases were recorded, while in the 2nd quarter, the number dropped to 3,707, indicating a decrease of 14.86 percent.
Furthermore, when comparing the 2nd quarter to the 3rd quarter, from July to September, there was a decline of 5.785 percent, with a recorded 3,494 cases.
"So makikita natin continuing yung pagbaba except of course month of July nagkaroon ng konting pagtaas but yung sinasabi ng SWS na from June to September ay tumaas, but based sa record ng ACG yung July tumaas at mababa siya at least from September," said Fajardo.
The spokesperson presented the data to refute the survey results and allow the public to make comparisons.
