NCRPO cracks down on sex crimes vs women

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities will focus on digital sex crimes against women after the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that most of the offenses committed against female students occurred in Metro Manila, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) annnounced yesterday.

NCRPO spokesman Lt. Col. Dexter Versola said Metro Manila police would be conducting “cyber patrols” or the online equivalent of mobile patrolling for beat cops.

Police officers trained for such methods are tasked to sweep social media platforms and other websites for activities such as sex crimes against minors and women.

“In the digital aspect of the crime, we will assign cyber patrollers in coordination with the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG),” Versola said in a radio interview.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin said 149 crimes against female students were recorded from July 1 to Aug. 31. Most of the cases were rape, acts of lasciviousness and violence against women and children, which were committed mostly in Metro Manila.

Earlier, the ACG said perpetrators of these crimes create fake social media accounts and pretend to be children, women or even “attractive young men” looking for unsuspecting internet users and then initiating conversations with the victims. Upon securing the victims’ confidence, they ask for the girls’ naked images.

Versola said internet users should be wary about messages they open or who they talk to on social media platforms.

He added that suspicious persons attempting to make contact through messaging apps should be reported to the police.

“If you notice anything suspicious, you should report it to the police so we can locate them,” Versola said. “They are working in cyberspace. This calls for a different operational approach, but we will look into the details so we can identify them and determine the location of these suspects.”

The PNP said it was coordinating with the Department of Education to ensure the safety of students with the resumption of face-to-face classes.