The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said no confidential or sensitive information was compromised when the House of Representatives’ official website went down on Saturday evening.
In a statement, the DICT said its preliminary assessment showed the affected pages primarily contain publicly available information.
“Initial assessment indicates that, at present, no confidential or sensitive government information has been compromised,” it said.
“Efforts are presently focused on containing the incident, restoring affected services, and determining the nature and extent of the unauthorized access.”
The House of Representatives' official website (congress.gov.ph) reportedly went offline on Saturday evening, 13 June, following a suspected hacking incident. Screenshots circulating online show alleged messages from groups claiming responsibility for the disruption, which quickly spread across social media.
The incident comes just days after similar reports of attempted cyberattacks targeting the Senate website on 10 June. The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday urged all government agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of their digital defenses following the attacks, while the PNP's Anti-Cybercrime Group has been instructed to work closely with the House's information technology and cybersecurity personnel as part of the ongoing investigation.
The DICT said, through the National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT), it immediately coordinated with the House of Representatives and activated its incident response procedures. It added it is currently coordinating with the House of Representatives and relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident, support the restoration of affected systems and services, and strengthen security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Website defacement constitutes a violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175), which carries a standard penalty of 6 to 12 years of imprisonment (prision mayor), and/or a fine of at least P200,000.
