Dev Flores

A DSWD social worker impeded one male applicant seeking medical assistance through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program after he presented a fake PWD ID. The statements he disclosed during the interview did not match the requirements he submitted.

Consequently, the agency filed a report to the Barbosa Police Station, and the incident has officially logged in the blotter.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumalo stated that using falsified documents not only violates the law but also deprives legitimate beneficiaries to experience their rights that they truly deserve.

Dumlao also noted that the agency will not hesitate to file a case against those who are proven to have falsified their documents when applying for the agency’s services.

RELATED VIDEO:

The Bureau of Immigration arrests two Chinese nationals in Albay and Davao Del Norte for falsely representing themselves as Filipino citizens.

In Luzon, the BI Intelligence Division Operations Unit–5 found a Chinese national, namely “Jucan Hong” in Legazpi City, Albay.

The intelligence division reports that Jucan Hong uses his misrepresented citizenship to secure government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, and to facilitate his business.

In the Mindanao region, the intelligence division arrested Qingzhuang Ke, known in his Filipino name, Jimmy Reyes, in Tagum City, Davao Del Norte.

Ke acquired a delayed registration of the birth certificate, bearing his Filipino name. He also used this advantage to secure IDs, bank accounts, and vehicles and operate his warehouse business.

The arrested individuals are currently in the custody of BI and are facing a deportation case.

RELATED VIDEO:

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon is hoping to fill thousands of vacant positions in the agency within this year.

The agency is actively seeking young professionals to join its reform plan by conducting a nationwide campus job fair.

There are nearly 2,000 vacant positions offered across the country.

DPWH is looking forward to occupying the positions in the engineering and accountancy sectors.

The positions available for engineering are the following:

• Engineer II 
• Project Evaluation Officer

Sec. Dizon hopes to recruit principled accountants to fill the vacancies.

“Alam mo naman, ‘yung mga kalokohan, di pwedeng walang mga finance na kasabwat. So, kailangan talaga matitino ‘yung mga accountant natin.” he said

[“You know, the misconduct, it’s impossible if they have no accomplice in finance. So, we need principled accountants.”]

“At tsaka ang problema, marami ding nawawala. Marami tayong vacancies for accountants eh,” he added

[“Also, the problem is that many are also leaving. We have more vacancies for accountants.”]

Positions offered for accountancy are:

• Accountant I
• Accountant II
• Administrative Officer I
• Administrative Officer II
• Administrative Officer V

Aside from the external applicants, the available positions are also open for existing employees.

“Marami din don within.. ipo-promote natin from contractual to permanent. Pero marami din naman ngayon na pwede silang maging Project Evaluation Officers na contractual muna. Kasi typically naman sa DPWH, contractual muna hangga’t di pa pumapasa ng board.” Sed. Dizon said

[“Many from them within… we will promote them from contractual to permanent. But mostly, we can appoint them as Project Evaluation Officers for a while. Because typically in DPWH, it should begin on a contractual basis until they pass the board.”]

With reports from Jed Nerecina

Watch here:

Valentine's Day is approaching, and the Philippine National Police is reminding the public that scammers often exploit this season to carry out love scams.

The PNP reported six cases of love scams from January 1 to February 5, 2026. 

In fact, this year’s figure is lower than in 2025, which recorded 54 cases.

Despite the decline, the PNP stresses that this incident is ‘persistent and real’.

Love scams involve fraudsters who take advantage of someone's emotions to extract money.

“Love or romance scams typically begin with online connections where scammers pretend to be foreigners or overseas Filipino workers. They invest time in building emotional attachment, often avoiding video calls, professing love too quickly, and eventually asking for money, travel funds for a supposed meet-up, or sensitive personal details such as bank information, one-time passwords (OTP), or identification cards,” the PNP explains

The red flags that an individual must take as a sign to walk away are: avoiding video calls, asking for money and personal or sensitive information.

The PNP warns to disengage from suspicious individuals to prevent becoming a victim of a scam.

“Authorities are reminding the public never to send money, intimate photos or videos, or personal information to people they have not personally met and fully verified,” according to PNP

Additionally, PNP mentioned that the common targets of scammers are those who are ‘single, widowed, or emotionally vulnerable’.

Scammers want to take advantage of that vulnerability by building an emotional connection. Making you feel that you’re not alone, but the hidden agenda is to deceive you so that they can gain advantage from you.

Due to unceasing incidents of cyber fraud and scams in the Philippines, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) wants to build a stronger layer of protection for consumers against online fraud, lending app institutions, and online banking scams.

In light of this plan, the CICC wants to establish a partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas through signing a Memorandum of Agreement.

CICC Usec. Aboy Paraiso stated that the bank typically assumes to be absolved when an individual falls victim to a deceptive scheme.

“Ngayon, isang participation mo lang, sabi ng mga banko, “wala na kaming kasalanan diyan”. Pag kinlick mo lang yung link kahit wala ka pang binibigay na details, naa-absuwleto si bangko diyan,” he said

[“Now, in just one participation, the bank says, “we no longer have any fault there”. Once you click the link, even though you didn’t give any details, the bank absolves itself from that.”]

He further explained to implement stricter rules to protect consumers. Consumer protection would be an important step to secure and maintain individuals’ trust in the banking and financial institutions. 

However, if the clients lose their trust, both sides will be negatively affected.

He also recommends that private associations must join to the plan and work with them to craft regulations. 

“It’s a combination of technology-solution and a policy-solution,” he said

The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group revealed the smarter move of the scammers. 

Scammers previously used the SMS blaster to send messages to deceive people. 

Now, they utilize an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) catcher. According to PNP-ACG, an IMSI catcher is a fake mobile tower between mobile phones and towers of original network provider to send SMS spoofing scams. This type of scam contains phishing link that brings you to fake website, then a scammer will ask your OTP (One-Time Password) to access your account.

PNP-ACG Spokesperson PLt. Wallen Arancillo revealed that scammers can still deceive people through IMSI catcher.

“So, kung nagtataka tayo na nakakatanggap tayo ng mga unwanted messages dahil po don sa mismong machine na yon,”

[“So, if you we are wondering why we receive unwanted messages, it’s because of that machine.”]

PLt. Arancillo further explained that it was huge earlier but now portable. 

She also mentioned that the PNP had earlier found scammers in Mandaluyong and Makati using IMSI catchers.

With reports from Mia Alonzo

Watch here to know more: