Anti-Cybercrime Law's IRR signed after 3 years

MANILA - The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, was signed and launched Wednesday in Manila, close to 3 years after the law's enactment on Sept. 12, 2012.

The IRR was signed by Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, and, on behalf of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas, DILG Undersecretary Edwin Enrile.

The formulation of the IRR began in February 2014 after the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the constitutionality of RA 10175, and after a series of consultations and meetings with stakeholders, and industry partners from the business community, media, academe, ICT organizations, the legal profession, NGOs, internet service providers, and various national government agencies.

This law is deemed very relevant and timely by the DOJ, DOST, and DILG considering the proliferation of crimes via the world wide web and through computers, and considering that there are 33.6 million Philippine internet users, according to data from the Philippine National Police Cybersecurity Research and Analysis Division.

The law addresses crimes committed against and by means of computer systems; it focuses on the pre-emption, prevention, and prosecution of cybercrime such as offenses against confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems, computer-related offenses, and content-related offenses.

Data provided by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group shows that from January up to December 2014, there have been 614 recorded cybercrime incidents compared to only 288 in 2013.

Of these offenses, 22 percent comprises internet fraud and/or scams; 16-percent, online libel; and the rest of the pie spread out to cover other offenses.

The IRR will be uploaded via the DOJ website at doj.gov.ph.