COPC decries cyber attack on PCIJ sites

THE Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) has condemned Friday’s cyber attack on the websites of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

Msgr. Elmer Abacahin, COPC president, said the cyber attack was clearly aimed at silencing dissenting opinion on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs as well as to undermine the PCIJ’s editorial credibility.

“As the fourth estate, we reiterate our firm resolve to fight for a democratic government–a government of laws and due process and not a government who breeds fear into its citizens,” Abacahin said.

The cyber attack on PCIJ’s websites (www.pcij.org and www.pcij.org/blog) came at the heels of its extensive report on the war on drugs and the “Know your Rights” series.

In a call for support on social media, PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas said the cyber attack did not only render their websites inaccessible but embedded curse words in their blog articles apparently in an attempt to make it harder for their information technology team to fix the websites.

As of this writing, only PCIJ’s main website could be accessed. Its blog site remains inaccessible.

“We express solidarity with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines when it called on colleagues and the Filipino people in general to ‘protest any and all attempts to stifle freedom of the press and of expression,’” Abacahin said.

Full text of the COPC statement:

“The Cagayan de Oro Press Club Inc. condemns in the strongest terms the cyber attack on the websites of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on Friday even as we reiterate our firm solidarity with one of the vanguards of credible and ethical journalism in the country.

“In a call for support on social media, PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas said the cyber attack did not only render their websites inaccessible but curse words were embedded in their blog articles — apparently in an attempt to make it harder for their information technology team to repair their websites.

“The cyber attack comes at the heels of PCIJ’s extensive report on Duterte administration’s war on drugs and the ‘Know your rights’ series.

“We see only two reasons for this kind of pronged cyber attack: to silence dissenting opinion and to undermine PCIJ’s editorial credibility.

“As the fourth estate, we reiterate our solemn task to be government’s check and balance. Collectively, we reiterate our firm resolve to fight for a democratic government. A government of laws and due process and not a government who breeds fear into its citizens.

“We express solidarity with the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines when it called on colleagues and the Filipino people in general to ‘protest any and all attempts to stifle freedom of the press and of expression.’”