DICT tags 5 ‘provocateurs’

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has identified five “persons of interest” allegedly linked to social media posts inciting supporters to storm the Senate during Wednesday’s standoff over Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the individuals have been referred to the proper authorities for investigation over their posts allegedly encouraging unrest and violence at the Senate complex.

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

Aguda declined to identify the individuals but described them as familiar figures in online political circles.

Usual suspects

“The ones I saw there are the usual ones speaking on social media,” he said.

He linked some of the personalities to previous political mobilizations and protest activities.

“Maybe some of them are those we know who tried to organize rallies last year. The usual names are there,” Aguda added.

According to the DICT chief, authorities monitored posts allegedly urging supporters of Dela Rosa to proceed to the Senate and forcibly breach the premises during the height of the tensions inside the building.

Some posts circulating on Facebook Reels and TikTok allegedly encouraged followers to bring weapons such as clubs and bats.

Aguda said the activity appeared to involve actual users and not hacking operations or automated bot networks.

“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 said.

Major technology platforms, including Meta and TikTok, reportedly alerted the DICT to the surge of violent content online and acknowledged that some posts violated community standards.

The DICT, together with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, has preserved the digital evidence for turnover to law enforcement agencies.