DND reached out to Facebook on fake accounts, says Lorenzana

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of National Defense (DND) has reached out to social media giant Facebook to inquire about the epidemic of suspicious accounts on the widely used platform, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday (June 8).

Lorenzana said the DND was capable of checking the proliferation of what are believed to be fake Facebook accounts.

“It’s a cause for concern,” Lorenzana told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo, the military headquarters. “It creates discordant voices among the people which should not be there,” he said.

Lorenzana said he has a Facebook account himself, and he found it unsettling that his account could be hacked, too.

Some said the incident may be related to the proposed anti-terrorism law.

Thousands of Facebook accounts bearing the names of University of the Philippines (UP) students and alumni, and those from other schools as well, surfaced at the weekend.

The UP Office of the Student regent claimed that the fake accounts using the names of UP students were reported following protests on UP campuses against the anti-terror bill and threats received by UP students.

Seven protesters and a bystander were arrested on Friday (June 5) after joining an anti-terror bill protest.

Both critics and supporters of the bill are throwing accusations against each other, Lorenzana said.

“Those who are pro anti-terror bill say the other side was doing this,” he said in Filipino, referring to the fake Facebook accounts.

“The other side points to the pro-anti terror bill,” he said.

“So let’s take a look at what’s really happening,” Lorenzana said. “Both sides are just throwing accusations at each other,” he added.

Edited by TSB