Speaker’s social media accounts hacked

MANILA, Philippines — The social media accounts of Speaker Martin Romualdez, including his official account in the House of Representatives, have been hacked by still unidentified persons.

“We are taking this matter very seriously and are currently working with the relevant authorities to investigate this breach,” Romualdez in a statement on Monday, after he was informed by his communications team about the “unauthorized access by unknown individuals.”

“I urge everyone to remain cautious and vigilant about any unusual activity or communications that may appear to be from me or my office during this time. Rest assured, we are committed to resolving this issue promptly and ensuring the security of our digital platforms,” he vowed.

In mid-October, the House’s official website congress.gov.ph suffered a series of cyber attacks, after hackers victimized other government agencies starting from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to the Philippine Statistics Authority, and even the Senate.

House secretary-general Reginald Velasco confirmed the “unauthorized access.” But the House portal was able to fix the problem a few days later.

“Immediate steps have been taken to address the issue, and we are working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and law enforcement agencies concerned to investigate the matter,” he said.

Hackers infiltrated the House website and informed the public about the cyber bullying by posting a meme – which showed a laughing guy in a caricature filled with sarcasm – in the “Photo Journals” portion of the portal.

“You’ve been hacked! You’ve been hacked! Have a nice day! Happy April Fullz kahit October palang! Fix your website! Hacked by – 3musketeerz,” read the message of the hackers, dated Oct. 15, 2023 at 11:31 a.m.

Another indication of the hacked website showed Speaker Romualdez standing beside Laguna Rep. Ma. Rene Ann Matibag, whom he recently swore in as the 73rd member of the Lakas-CMD party in the House.

Its caption bore the same message: “Happy April Fullz kahit October palang! Fix your website!” but with a different timeline, this time stating Sept. 29, 2023 – the same day the Speaker administered the oath to Matibag and fellow Laguna Rep. Loreto Amante.

The same was true for scheduled committee hearings: “Happy April Fullz kahit October palang! Fix your website! Hacked by – 3musketeerz.”

Velasco asked the public for “patience and understanding” while working to restore the website.

“We are committed to ensure the security and integrity of our digital platforms, and we will implement additional measures to prevent such incidents in the future. We will keep the public updated as more information becomes available,” he said.

“We advise the public to be cautious of any suspicious emails or communications that claim to be from the House of Representatives,” the House official advised.