Cyberwar vs online election threats

It is not only vote-buying and other electioneering offenses that threaten to destroy the integrity of our country’s upcoming elections on May 12. The battlefront has shifted to the insidious spread of “fake news,” misinformation and disinformation. And it is not just among rival candidates. Many of the online attacks are directed at the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The attacks are not just to win the hearts and minds of Filipino voters in favor of certain candidates of their choice. More worrisome, they strike at the integrity of our automated election system (AES).

To protect the poll body from such emerging threats, the Comelec has put up a “war room” dedicated to wage the battle against those out to thwart the sovereign will of the Filipino electorate. This is to stem the rising tide of online attacks from the faceless “army of trolls” and auto-bots, Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced.

In our weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum the other day, Garcia confirmed the deployment of Comelec “keyboard warriors” in the runup to the coming May 12 midterm elections. The Garcia-led poll body decided to join forces with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)-Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) in this new election battlefront.

Garcia disclosed having fielded 30 Comelec personnel as “keyboard warriors” to repel, quell and address online misinformation and disinformation campaigns on various social media platforms here and abroad. Garcia assigned them to the newly created Threat Monitoring Center where the Comelec and the DICT-CICC information technology experts are housed together in Quezon City.

Garcia admitted he was “shocked” at the revelations that came out from the public hearings of Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino that as much as 45 percent of online “army trolls” and auto-bots are found operating in the Philippines as compared to the international average of 17 percent. This was raised during the public hearing of the Senate committee on maritime and admiralty zones chaired by the re-electionist Sen. Tolentino. The public hearing was prompted by a Senate resolution that sought to look into the latest reported Chinese “spying” activities in the Philippines.

From Comelec’s own experience of millions of hacking attempts on its Precinct Finder, Garcia noted these online trolls and auto-bots mask and hide their true origin to avoid detection. Using international Internet Service Providers from abroad like Singapore, the United States to as far as South Africa, Garcia learned that they actually operate in the Philippines in their bid to evade jurisdiction of our country’s laws.

This new breed of election threats comes from the so-called “dark web” in the cyberworld.

As defined in Google, the “dark web” is used for both legitimate and illicit activities, offering anonymity and access to restricted information, but also serving as a haven for cybercriminals and illegal marketplaces. It allows users to bypass censorship, communicate anonymously and share sensitive information, but it also facilitates the buying and selling of illegal goods and services.

According to the Comelec chief, their “keyboard warriors” do not only monitor and check all online posts, comments, information about Comelec and election-related matters in various social media platforms. Part of their task, he cited, is “to tell the truth” so that disinformation and misinformation are immediately corrected. “It’s worrisome if truth can be substituted by fake news,” Garcia warned.

“Kasi kung hindi natin sasagutin man lang yung mga allegation at komento dyan sa social media ay kawawa naman ang ating eleksyon,” Garcia pointed out.

Meanwhile, we have seen the Comelec acting on many cases on a motu proprio basis, or acting on its own initiative without waiting for any complaint to be filed or reported to the poll body on any election offense caught on video coming out in social media.

As of our Kapihan news forum last Wednesday, just five days before Election Day, Garcia noted the Comelec has issued as many as 300 to 400 show cause orders (SCO) to individual candidates accused of specific election offenses. In each SCO, the Comelec order asked the candidate to explain in writing why he or she should not be disqualified for the reported election law violation.

Garcia clarified the poll body must still observe due process with all concerned parties.

Yesterday, Comelec meted out its first disqualification (DQ) case against Pasig congressional candidate Christian Sia for making single mothers the butt of a joke during his campaign rally as caught on video and that went viral online.

On the other hand, Alyansa ng Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidate House deputy speaker Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar was cleared of the vote-buying complaint filed against her at the Comelec. Also caught on video by her complainant, Villar was able to prove to Comelec it took place before the official campaign period.

The Comelec Second Division ruled that Sia’s remarks directed at solo mothers constitute acts of gender-based harassment and violated the Fair Campaigning Act. The ruling against Sia is the first time in the history of the poll body that enforcement of the anti-discrimination law was carried out, Garcia cited.

Sia can still appeal his disqualification with the Comelec en banc or elevate it all the way to the Supreme Court (SC). Unless reversed by Comelec, or Sia gets a restraining order from the SC, his congressional bid is in limbo even if his name remains in the official ballot and he gets voted on election day.

Garcia reminded accused candidates of the Comelec resolution that their proclamation, if they win in the elections, will be suspended until his or her DQ case is resolved with finality. To strictly observe due process, Garcia disclosed the Comelec en banc will resolve DQ cases within three months after Election Day. While the proclamation of the winning candidate is suspended, duly elected and proclaimed officials will take over in “acting” capacity to ensure uninterrupted public service.

Before, after and even on Election Day, Garcia warned Comelec will still issue DQ rulings.

In behalf of the seven-man poll body, Garcia vowed to defend the sovereign will of Filipino voters, including waging a cyberwar against online election threats.