BIZ BUZZ: It’s a prank! Govt’s 8888 hotline plagued by pranksters

Despite today’s advancements in communication technology, it seems like the government is struggling with pranksters making reports using the national hotline.

Department of Information and Communications Technology undersecretary David L. Almirol told Biz Bizz last week that the country’s police force complained to him that about 30 percent of the report coursed through Citizens’ Complaint Hotline are hoaxes.

“This is what the (Philippine National Police) told me. So, they want a system where the ones doing the reporting are identified,” Almirol said n a chance interview.

“The hotline has no identity verification system. So, anyone can actually make a report,” he added.

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8888, officially known as the Citizens’ Complaint Hotline and the President’s Hotline, is the Philippines’24/7 national public service hotline launched in 2016 during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

In response to this problem, Almirol said that the new reporting system launched last week under the government’s super app, eGovPH, will remedy the problem.