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Senate minority claims email breach amid ‘imaginary’ destab claims


Opposition senators on Thursday claimed some of the email addresses of their staff were hacked, saying the incidents could “form part of a pattern to pin the political opposition for imaginary destabilization attempts.”

In a statement, the senators said they are “seriously concerned” about the hacking incidents on the email addresses of the staff of Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV.

They said the official email addresses for releasing media statements of Pangilinan and the Liberal Party (LP) were also hacked.

“The nature of the breach in all instances is the same: Unauthorized users sent emails using the staff and party addresses,” the minority statement read.

Aside from Pangilinan and Aquino, the other members of the Senate minority are Franklin Drilon, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, and Antonio Trillanes IV.

“These incidents seem to form part of a pattern to pin the political opposition for imaginary destabilization attempts,” they said.

They said they have reported previous hacking incidents to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and are now seeking help of the Senate sergeant-at-arms and Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to secure the services of experts.

They said the hacking incidents are a “cause for concern” as Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II spearheaded the creation of the group Citizen National Guard, which was reported to have said that dissent is the same as destabilization.

“Let us be clear. There is no destabilization plot. Dissent is not destabilization. Dissent is indispensable in a democracy,” the minority bloc said.

“Constitutional democracy protects the small voice, including the minority and the individual citizen, vis-a-vis the many and especially the all-powerful state. Democracy ensures that the small voice is heard and not harassed to silence,” the senators added. — RSJ, GMA News

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