Bankers, DOJ ink deal to raise cybersecurity awareness

CEBU, Philippines —  The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) formally inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to raise cybersecurity awareness in the Philippines.

Under the partnership, BAP will organize public awareness information campaigns, events, and activities, including free learning sessions, with the DOJ to share insights on the latest trends and development on cybersecurity.

In the wake of rising cybercrime incidents in the country, the objective of the MoU is to strengthen the banking industry’s cyber-resilience and develop a collaborative partnership with the DOJ to achieve a collective, coordinated, and strategic cyber response through information sharing and collaboration.

“The most effective deterrent against cybercrimes is a no-holds bar enforcement and prosecution that will put these cybercriminals in jail for good. The BAP and DOJ are unified in this mission,” said Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, President of the BAP on the sidelines during the virtual formal MOU signing held yesterday, February 4, 2022.

Prior to the MoU, the BAP has been consistently cooperating with the DOJ-Office of Cybercrime (OOC) to combat fraudulent online transactions and respond to cybercrime and cyber-related cases in the country.

“We will continue to work together with the DOJ to keep ourselves abreast on the latest news and developments in cybersecurity and take strong action against cybercriminals. The urgent need for effective enforcement and prosecution is what convinced us in the BAP to partner with the DOJ. Similarly, we vow to boost our cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate and prevent the public from falling prey to scams and online fraud,” Veloso added.

Aside from government agencies, the BAP is partnering with various stakeholders, such as social media influencers and media groups in its wide-ranging efforts to promote cybersecurity awareness in the country.

On November 14, the BAP launched the BAP #Cybersafe Facebook page, an online platform that aims to promote cybersecurity awareness among Filipinos and educate the public on how to protect themselves against cybercrimes. Additionally, cybersafe articles are featured on the BAP website each month to educate and promote cybersecurity to the Filipino banking public.