Some PHL websites manage to partially recover from cyberwar with Taiwan

Some Philippine government websites that were rendered inaccessible since last weekend in the wake of the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman last May 9 were back online, though sporadically. The sites of the Philippines News Agency and Philippine Information Agency, as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs, were occasionally accessible as of early Wednesday. But the sites of the Philippine National Police and Department of Education were still offline as of 3 a.m. Wednesday. On the other hand, the site of the Commission on Elections remained occasionally inaccessible, though its page for election results was online as of 4 a.m. Wednesday. Meanwhile, according to Newsbytes.ph, the Department of Education advised the public to visit its temporary site, its Facebook page, or its DETxt hotline at 636-1663 or 633-1942 for updates and issuances. The Philippine Coast Guard website had an "account suspended" error message but it was not immediately clear if it was due to an attack by pro-Taiwan hackers. In Taiwan, the Central News Agency remained inaccessible since last weekend. Philippine and Taiwanese hackers are in a cyberwar of sorts following the May 9 killing of a Taiwanese fishermen by Philippine Coast Guard sailors. Taiwan had demanded for an apology, an investigation, compensation for the fisherman's family, and fishery cooperation talks. Early Wednesday, the Philippines had issued an apology, which Taiwanese foreign minister David Lin saidwas a "positive" development, though it needed more "clarity." — DVM, GMA News