The Investigator’s Handbook: Philippines Edition

What the Philippines edition covers

1. Philippines: domestic legal process, who can ask for what, and how

   This chapter sets out the Philippine powers that produce electronic evidence and hold money: the preservation order in the Cybercrime Prevention Act, the court-issued cybercrime warrants that the Supreme Court’s Rule on Cybercrime Warrants sets up, the special routes for bank records and SIM registration data, and the evidence rules that decide whether the result can be used in court. By the end you should know which officer or court can issue what, what a private investigator or journalist must do instead, and why a foreign agency cannot use these powers directly.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Scope and what was read
   • The powers at a glance
   • Preservation: the order you can issue yourself
   • Disclosure: the Warrant to Disclose Computer Data
   • Search, seizure and examination: WSSECD and WECD
   • Interception: awareness only
   • What the Supreme Court did in Disini
   • Who may issue, and who may not
   • Bank deposits and money
   • SIM registration data
   • User notice, non-disclosure and the Data Privacy Act
   • Emergency requests
   • Making electronic records admissible
   • How a foreign investigator relates to this law
   • The offences you are most likely to investigate
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

2. Philippines: internet and telecom providers, finding who to serve

   This chapter shows how to work out which Philippine provider handled an IP address, a mobile number or a domain, what the regulator and the registries publish, how long providers must keep records, and what our site can and cannot tell you about who to address. By the end you should be able to turn an IP address and a timestamp, or a mobile number, into a correctly addressed disclosure order, and know where the public record stops.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Regulator and licensing
   • Step 1: from an IP address to the network holder
   • Step 2: from a mobile number to an operator and a subscriber
   • Step 3: domains
   • Retention by type of holder
   • Who to serve at providers
   • Foreign platforms with a Philippine presence
   • Data protection and the provider’s own lawyers
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

3. Philippines: banks, wallets and national reporting for money and complaints

   This chapter explains how a scam loss is reported and held in the Philippines, which rules decide what a bank or wallet operator must do and by when, how a competent authority gets account information from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), when a court-ordered freeze is needed, and who sits above the bank when a customer disagrees. By the end you should know the national reporting channels, the legal basis and timetable for holding funds, and the routes an investigator has to account records.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National reporting channels
   • The national mechanism for holding funds quickly: the AFASA
   • What the bank or wallet must do beyond the hold
   • The investigator’s route to account data: BSP inquiry
   • Court-ordered freezes: the AMLA route
   • Complaint ladder
   • Banks on our site, and wallets
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

4. Philippines: cross-border treaties, platform routes and what Philippine authorities can send out

   This chapter sets out the Philippine treaty position as the official lists show it, the central authorities that run mutual legal assistance (MLA) in and out of the country, how a Philippine investigator reaches the large US platforms, and what a foreign agency should send to reach a Philippine provider or bank. By the end you should be able to choose between a police channel, a Budapest Convention preservation request, a platform route and a formal MLA request, and to write the request so the central authority can act on it.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Treaty position
   • The central authorities and how to reach them
   • Incoming requests: what the Philippines asks for
   • Outgoing requests from the Philippines
   • How Philippine requests reach the large US platforms
   • Police channels (awareness)
   • What a foreign agency should send to reach Philippine providers or banks
   • Decision flow
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

5. Philippines: templates, contacts and quick reference

   This chapter gives the national agencies you will deal with, four ready-to-adapt templates that cite Philippine law (a preservation order, a Warrant to Disclose Computer Data application outline with the disclosure order that follows it, a request to the Bangko Sentral to inquire into a financial account, and an emergency request), and a one-page table of who to call first by case type. Replace every item in [SQUARE BRACKETS] and delete lines that do not apply.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National agencies
   • Template 1: Preservation order to a Philippine service provider
   • Template 2: Warrant to Disclose Computer Data (application outline and disclosure order)
   • Template 3: Emergency request
   • Who to call first, by case type
   • Quick reference: numbers that matter
   • Checklist

Every edition also includes the global reference: how data requests work, the seven big platforms, the 116-service directory, country routes, cryptocurrency, evidence handling, templates and a glossary. See the full contents or try the free First 24 Hours checklist.

Related directories for Philippines

• Bank fraud help in Philippines
• How police in Philippines request data from platforms
• Cybercrime agencies in Philippines
• Law-enforcement request hub (LERS)

Questions