At the Global Anti-Scam Summit held recently in London, GASA Southeast Asia advisor Rajeshpal Singh Sandhu said that the Philippines, through the CICC, has established a new regional and global standard in fighting online scams.
“The CICC, under the leadership of Undersecretary Alexander Ramos, has set a new standard in the region. Its comprehensive, intelligence-led approach to fight cybercrime and protecting digital citizens is now being studied by other countries. The Philippines is no longer just responding to cybercrime—it is leading the way,” Sandhu said.
The CICC received the Runner-Up award for Best Scam Fighting Organization at the 2025 Scam Fighter of the Year Awards in the Netherlands. Ramos was also named Runner-Up for Best Scam Fighting Individual. The international recognition has positioned Ramos for appointment to the GASA Advisory Council.
Ramos presented the agency’s achievements at the London summit, including the establishment of the National Cybercrime Hub in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The facility is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and offers digital forensics services, inter-agency coordination, and cybercrime training under a zero-bureaucracy model.
The center has hosted numerous capacity-building initiatives and now serves as the preferred venue for high-level discussions on cybercrime.
A memorandum of understanding with the Presidential Communications Office formally designated the 1326 hotline as the National Anti-Scam Hotline. In 2024 alone, it logged over 10,000 scam-related reports, many of which resulted in actionable intelligence and law enforcement operations.
The CICC has also led a nationwide cyber awareness campaign and taken part in shaping international cybercrime policies, including active participation in the United Nations’ discussions on a proposed cybercrime convention.
On the law enforcement front, the agency facilitated the arrest and deportation of suspected Indian terrorist operatives and secured convictions of Chinese nationals involved in online sexual exploitation schemes. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian recently cited CICC’s role in identifying scam hubs posing as legal offshore gaming and business process outsourcing operations.
“GASA looks forward to sharing the CICC’s anti-scam blueprint with governments across Southeast Asia. The Philippines is proving that with the right leadership and strategy, we can win the war against online scams,” Sandhu added.
