Acting Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore Win Gatchalian has strongly condemned today’s cyberattack on the Senate website and called for a unified government response to identify and prosecute those responsible.

Gatchalian said the incident is the latest in a series of escalating threats to the security and independence of the Philippine Senate. The Senate has been on heightened security alert following serious threats relayed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to senators, prompting the chamber to authorize work-from-home arrangements for employees on June 10 and 11 to allow for inspections and other precautionary measures.

“This cannot be treated as an isolated incident. Ang pag-atake sa aming mga sistema, gaya ng iba pang banta na kinakaharap natin ngayon, ay krimen. At lahat ng kriminal ay dapat managot sa batas,” Gatchalian said.

The Acting Senate President called on the NBI, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to immediately launch a thorough investigation into the incident.

While the Senate has confirmed that the attack was limited to website defacement and that no legislative files, databases, or sensitive records were compromised, Gatchalian stressed that the intrusion nonetheless constitutes a serious violation of the institution’s integrity.

“Hindi kami susuko sa intimidasyon. Hindi kami hihinto sa aming trabaho para sa bawat Pilipino. Ang mga nagtatangkang sirain ang demokrasya sa pamamagitan ng karahasan ay haharapin ang buong kapangyarihan ng batas, at ang buong lakas ng isang institusyon na nakatayo para sa katotohanan, katarungan, at kalayaan ng ating bansa,” Gatchalian declared.

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Photo by Mark Cayabyab / OS WIN GATCHALIAN