“Truly a dream come true” is how the director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) described the inauguration on Monday of its brand new P50- million Anti-Cybercrime Team (ACT) office, the first of its kind in Metro Manila.

The taxpayer-funded office will probe all forms of cybercrimes—from online extortion to identity theft and trolling—with the help of 350 civilians from the city’s barangays who volunteered to serve as informants.

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The brainchild of the QCPD director, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, the “state of the art” office would transform the police district into “the most modern police force in the country,” said Eduardo Año, interior department officer in charge.

ACG satellite office

The ACT office will act as a satellite center of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) in Camp Crame which Eleazar once headed.

The establishment of the facility has been his goal since he became QCPD director in July 2016, Eleazar recounted.

“We procured the most modern equipment available in the market” with the city government shouldering the cost, he said.

The ACT will be composed of seven PNP-ACG personnel and 12 QCPD officers who would be especially trained for the job, Eleazar said.

He noted that according to police data, the most commonly investigated cybercrimes were swindling, libel, online threats, identity theft and hacking. —With reports from Samantha Almero and Joanna delos Santos

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