Cybercrime

BEFORE Bong Go’s lawyer asked the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a probe into what appears like a syndicate of character assassins out to besmirch the image of the Davao Senator, several other politicians filed separate complaints with the NBI against persons who use the social media to demean and demonize them.

Among the first to seek succor to conduct a probe on the purveyors of fake news from the NBI were Party-list Representative Sara Elago, Vice President Leni Robredo, and Rep. Crispin Remulla. Before Go became senator, he was the object of foul media accounts linking him to the purchase of naval frigates despite the declaration of those involved in the controversy that he has nothing to do with the contract as it was a done deal. Bong Go was then acting as head of the Presidential Management staff whose office would do the ministerial job of referring to agencies matters that concerned them.

Unlike the three I mentioned, Bong Go’s request for an NBI investigation of fake news had met with a howl of protests alleging harassments and threats. But the Senator refused to cave in, instead, he encouraged those who are being victimized by those who spread fake information against them.

The latest victim of false information is former Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. of the Department of Information and Communications Technology who was the subject Manila Standard front-page news. Quoting from a blogger the tabloid alleged that Rio owns several million shares of stocks from Dito Telecommunity formerly known as Mislatel. Rio was Acting Secretary of DICT when the agency awarded the much-sought-after 3rd Telco to Mislatel. The stocks were worth millions of pesos, as alleged in the news.

Rio however vehemently denied he owns any shares in Dito. He claimed that Manila Standard-based their story in a bogus blogger account. The newspaper came put with Rio’s rejoinder a day after, moreover, he told me that just the same his lawyer is filing a complaint with the NBI to formally conduct a probe to unmask who is or are behind the fake story. My take is that the tabloid knows their source.

The NBI recently took note of the increasing numbers of people that brought their plight to them seeking help against malicious and downright lies written by trolls and unscrupulous persons hiding behind anonymity masking as bloggers in the social media.

The proliferation of fake news and cyber-attacks has become a vogue since the conviction of Maria Ressa of Rappler. I don’t think however that this will earn them any laurels in the Philippines .but for all those who now cry being “harassed” and their “freedom” being curtailed, they might just earn them a tender rap on the knuckles, a fine or prison term or both.