ANGARA KEYNOTES INTERNATIONAL CYBERCRIME CONFERENCE

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urges for the cooperation between the government and the people in the 2nd International Conference on Cybercrime, held yesterday at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati.

"The operative word in cybercrime law enforcement is collaboration--between the people and the government, between different agencies and institutions, and between international leaders," he said.

The veteran legislator keynoted the event as the author of Senate Bill No. 52, known as the Anti-Cybercrime Bill. The bill imposes heavy punishments for internet-based crimes such as fraud, child pornography, illegal access and others.

"On the good side, ICT has wrought many benefits for us--a revolutionary phenomenon that has changed the way we live and the way we communicate. But it also has a dark side -- it makes us vulnerable to attacks on our identity, and sexual offenses.

"Right now there's no such law which covers the rapidly expanding field of cyberspace. As we strive to inform and educate the public about the wonders of the internet, we should also train our law enforcement officials to be on guard against the people who take advantage of these technological developments to harm others," he said.

Recognizing the difficulties in cases rooted in the internet, Angara reiterated his call for cooperation in the fight against cybercrime.

"It is notoriously hard to investigate and prosecute these kinds of offenses, even more so to get an actual conviction. We need a mechanism for collaboration between the people and the government, as well as between government of different countries because of the tricky jurisdiction of cybercrimes," he explained.