Colleagues seek release of ‘hacktivists’

SOME 50 members of the “hacktivist” group Anonymous Philippines picketed the Department of Justice in Manila on Monday calling for the release of two colleagues recently arrested for allegedly hacking and defacing the Commission on Elections website.

Wearing Guy Fawkes masks and other face covers, members of Anonymous Philippines gathered at the DOJ  gate on Padre Faura Street and held a silent protest at 10 a.m. They carried placards calling for the release of Paul Biteng and Joenel de Asis who were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation last month.

“We call for the immediate release of Paul and Joenel. Our stand is that there was nothing wrong in what they did. It was only meant to expose that the government is negligent in safeguarding the personal data of every Filipino. The leaking of the data, however, was not done by Anonymous but by another group,” said a masked spokesperson of the group, who declined to give his name.

“We see in our country that the corrupt do not go to jail, while a young graduate of information technology and a [computer] security expert go to jail. Where is the justice?” he said.

He said Anonymous had been poring over the Comelec website since 2010 and exposed its weakness in 2013.

“You did nothing. Isn’t that negligence? Corrupt election operators are raking in money while you are neglecting our online security. Watch us, we are just around,” they said, apparently referring to election officials.

He said Anonymous would continue its online presence and monitor the elections for any cheating. He said the group would not hack any government website until a new president is proclaimed.

Asked what would happen if the government would not agree to the group’s demand to release their colleagues, the spokesperson said: “Your data is on the Internet. Watch us.”