Families of drug war victims seek NBI’s help amid growing online threats

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'This harassment reflects the emboldenment of Duterte’s most aggressive supporters — paid trolls and hardline loyalists alike — enabled by a leadership that evades justice and feeds on fear and distortion,' the NUPL says

MANILA, Philippines – The families of those who perished under Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, as well as their counsels, have sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) amid unabated online threats against them.

Led by their counsels from the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), the families appeared before the NBI to ask for a probe into the coordinated online harassment targeting them after former president Duterte was arrested on March 11.

“The attacks — spread widely on Facebook — include doctored images, fabricated narratives, misogynist hate speech, and outright disinformation, all designed to discredit the victims’ families and their lawyer. These intensified after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for former president Rodrigo Duterte,” the NUPL said.

“This harassment reflects the emboldenment of Duterte’s most aggressive supporters — paid trolls and hardline loyalists alike — enabled by a leadership that evades justice and feeds on fear and distortion. By casting legal action as persecution and turning survivors into targets, Duterte’s camp is trying to kill accountability before it can take root,” it added.

Through the Interpol, the ICC ordered Duterte’s arrest last month over crimes against humanity in relation to his drug war that killed nearly 30,000 people, based on human rights groups tallies. Duterte is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands, as the first former Philippine president and former Asian head of state to be arrested by the ICC.

As expected, Duterte supporters retaliated, condemning the arrest through protests in Davao City, Metro Manila, and parts of the world.

But apart from that, families of drug war victims also started to experience harassment from the supporters especially online. Some of the families experienced harassment on social media posts, while some were bombarded with hate and harmful messages through private messages.

“We are trying to determine the account holders of the social media accounts that posted the fake news against Atty. (Kristina) Conti and the relatives of victims of EJK. The NBI has the competence to look into these through their cybercrime division,” NUPL president Ephraim Cortez told Rappler.

Even the Supreme Court (SC) and the ICC were not spared from online attacks. The SC’s Meta wall were flooded with hate messages from Duterte supporters. The supporters also targeted Presiding Judge Iiula Motoc, among the magistrates who handle Duterte’s ICC case, and left negative comments on the judge’s Meta photos. 

In late March, NUPL Metro Manila secretary general and ICC assistant counsel to victims Kristina Conti said they are looking into the possibility of filing legal complaints against “most vile” content against the families. With regard to Duterte’s ICC case, Conti earlier said the harassment or “bullying” provided the ICC the justification to handle the case to ensure fairness and peace.

It might also affect Duterte’s interim release, Conti said, because the current climate shows that the former president and supporters are “threats” to the victims and their counsels. – Rappler.com