Philippine DOJ, German prosecutors explore joint initiative to exchange best practices on investigation and prosecution of high-profile cybercrimes　

Manila, Philippines — Officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the Philippines met with representatives from the Office of the Public Prosecutor General of Bamberg, Germany to explore joint initiatives to exchange best practices on the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime and other complex transnational offenses.

The delegation from Germany included Public Mr. Wolfgang Gründer, General Public Prosecutor of the General Public Prosecution Office of Bamberg, Germany, and Mr. Thomas Goger, Deputy Director and Chief Public Prosecutor of the Bavarian Central Office for the Prosecution of Cybercrime or ZCB). Also present was Mr. Alexander Birle, Resident Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in the Philippines. During the meeting, the delegation shared the structure and operations of ZCB, a specialized cybercrime office composed of prosecutors and digital evidence experts handling major cyberattacks, organized cybercrime networks, and cross-border online child exploitation cases.

DOJ officials highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination between prosecutors and law enforcement through early prosecutor involvement in investigations. Over the past two years, the DOJ has conducted joint capacity-building programs with law enforcement agencies nationwide, training thousands of investigators and prosecutors to improve case development and prosecution.