The Department of Information and Communications Technology has identified and referred five “persons of interest” to law enforcement authorities for allegedly using social media to incite the violent siege at the Philippine Senate.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda confirmed that the individuals are under investigation for allegedly encouraging their followers to storm the legislative building and create unrest during Wednesday’s standoff.

“We already have five persons of interest that we have referred to law enforcers,” Aguda said in Tagalog.

While declining to publicly identify the suspects, Aguda described them as familiar figures in online political circles rather than mainstream celebrities.

“I probably won't mention them for now, but the ones I saw there are the usual ones speaking on social media,” he said.

He linked the individuals to previous political mobilizations.

“Maybe some of these are those we know who tried to organize rallies last year. The usual names are there. Looking at the list now, there is no one we can call a personality or celebrity. It’s not like that,” Aguda added.

The DICT chief cited monitored posts allegedly instructing supporters to violently breach the Senate’s perimeter. He said the suspects urged followers to proceed to the Senate and enter the premises to cause disruption. Some posts, heavily utilizing short-form video platforms such as Facebook Reels and TikTok, allegedly encouraged supporters to bring weapons such as clubs or bats.

Aguda clarified that the digital mobilization appeared to be a deliberate effort by actual users rather than the result of hacking or automated bot activity.

“It’s not a man-in-the-middle attack because no one tried to attack. It is plain that they themselves spoke and encouraged people, real people,” he explained.

Major technology companies, including Meta and TikTok, proactively alerted the DICT about the surge in violent content, acknowledging that the posts violated community standards.

The DICT, alongside Undersecretary Renato “Aboy” Paraiso and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, is currently preserving digital evidence directly from the platforms for turnover to authorities.

Following the unrest, the agencies intensified monitoring of online platforms for content that could further inflame tensions or incite violence.

“This kind of activity in our cyberspace will never be tolerated by the DICT and CICC,” Aguda warned in a separate statement.

He also urged the public to refrain from sharing posts that incite sedition or physical harm, advising citizens to remain calm and report violative content through the DICT’s 1326 hotline or through DICT official website.