■ Daniel Boone
The website of a media workers’ alliance became the latest victim of cyber-attacks in the country, after the group released a statement critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s views toward the media.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) discovered their website was hacked and inaccessible on January 9, due to a malware that disrupted internet services found in the host site.
Prior to the hacking incident, the last time the group accessed the website was on December 30 when they posted a statement saying Duterte should always be clear in what he says, NUJP Secretary General Dabeth Panelo explained.
“May mga pagkakataon naman po para sa biro o sa kalokohan. Subalit bilang dahil kayo ang Pangulo, ang inyong mga pahayag sa publiko ay aming itinuturing—at dapat lamang ituring—na patakaran ng inyong pamahalaan,” NUJP said in the statement.
The group regained access to its website only on January 11 after resolving technicalities, Panelo said.
Although the union has yet to determine those responsible for the attack, they labeled the perpetrators as enemies of press freedom and expression, and the hacking as an effort to silence the media’s legitimate dissent toward the administration.
Other organizations should also be wary of attacks like NUJP’s, Panelo said. “Kung kaya nila itong gawin sa NUJP, a national organization, kaya rin nila itong gawin to any other organization or individual,” she added.
The website of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism was likewise taken down by unidentified hackers in July 2016, after the organization published reports on Duterte’s war against drugs.
Government sites have not been safe from such attacks either. Two months prior to the election, the Commission on Elections’ database was leaked online in March 2016. At least 68 other government sites were simultaneously subjected to hackers in July 2016, following the release of the ruling on the arbitration case filed against China.
Attacks against government-owned sites mostly aim to tamper or obtain data, while hacking media websites are assaults to media itself, Panelo said.
However, forms of attacks against the media happen mostly on ground. During the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, at least 30 media-related killings have been documented by the National Press Club (NPC), the country’s largest organization of professional journalists and media workers.
Meanwhile, the first media killing under the Duterte administration happened only on December 21, 2016, when Catanduanes News Now journalist Larry Que died in the hospital two days after being shot in the head. Jinky Tabor, another journalist and a witness to the incident, claimed to be receiving death threats as well.
In November 2016, the Philippines commemorated the seventh anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre, the single most violent attack against the press. With a tally of 58 individuals killed, 32 of whom are from the media, the perpetrators of the crime remain at large.
The International Federation of Journalists placed the Philippines as the second most dangerous place for journalists, second to war-torn Iraq. From 1991 to March 2016, a total of 146 media men have been killed in the country, data from NPC showed.
NUJP warns the members of the media to be watchful against all forms of attacks.
“We urge the independent media community and our people to remain vigilant against all forces who wish to silence the free exchange of opinion and dissent in their desire to force us to sing one tune,” NUJP said in a statement. ■
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