Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

NUPL-NCR Secretary General Maria Kristina Conti assisted the 4 relatives of drug war victims in filing the request  before the NBI. Photo from NUPL/Facebook

Article (news)

 NUPL

Karen De Guzman

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1743750181837Screen Shot 2025-04-04 at 3.02.22 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">NUPL-NCR Secretary General Maria Kristina Conti assisted the 4 relatives of drug war victims in filing the request  before the NBI. Photo from NUPL/Facebook</span></span></span>MANILA — Families of drug war victims on Friday sought the National Bureau of Investigation&#x27;s (NBI) help to probe the &quot;coordinated online harassment campaign&quot; against them that &quot;intensified,&quot; incidentally, after the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.  </div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/17/unprecedented-icc-case-gives-birth-to-false-claims-fake-quotes-on-social-media-1930">Unprecedented ICC case gives birth to false claims, fake quotes on social media</a></div><p>&quot;The attacks—spread widely on Facebook—include doctored images, fabricated narratives, misogynist hate speech, and outright disinformation, all designed to discredit the victims’ families and their lawyer,&quot; the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said in a statement. </p><p>NUPL-NCR Secretary General Maria Kristina Conti assisted the 4 relatives of drug war victims in filing the request.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/18/duterte-risks-facing-more-charges-due-to-his-supporters-behavior-on-social-media-1414">Duterte may face more trouble after supporters spam ICC judge&#x27;s social media, says lawyer</a></div><p>According to NUPL, which represents many of the families of drug war victims in seeking justice and accountability, the online attacks &quot;intensified after the ICC issued a warrant of arrest for Duterte.&quot;</p><p>“Merong ibang content na ‘mag-ingat ka, hindi ka na sisikatan ng araw.’ Sa panahon ngayon at sa konteksto ng sitwasyon, ay hindi dapat ‘yan isantabi o balewalain kasi maraming baka kung anong isipin dyan,” Conti said.</p><p>“Ang iisipin nila, kapag nawala ang biktima, mawawala rin ang kaso ni Duterte. Kaya ‘yung physical harm and threats dun sa mga biktima, siniseryoso po namin,” she added. </p><p>Sheera Escudero, a relative of a drug war victim, condemned the use of manipulated images and videos meant to discredit their cause.</p><p>“Ang panawagan lang namin ay hustisya pero ang ginagawa nila pangbabaligtad sa amin. Gagawan kami ng fake news, ima-manipulate ‘yung videos namin, ‘yung images na hawak namin at sasabihing peke ‘yung hawak naming mga litrato tapos sasabihin nila na kami ang dapat kasuhan, kami ang kriminal,” Escudero said. </p><p>She said the mother of another EJK victim has become a target of online ridicule. </p><p>“Si Nanay Sheila, ginawan nila ng meme, Si Nanay Sheila, dalawang anak niya ang namatay. Matagal na namin siyang nakakasama. Imbes na sympathies, condolences, ang natanggap ni Nanay Shiela puro pambabatikos, kinwestyon pati ang pagiging ina,” she lamented. </p><p>Another grieving mother, &quot;Dahlia&quot;, shared her emotional distress over the online abuse. </p><p>“Tuwing haharap kami sa media, ‘yung mga comment nila talagang nakakalungkot, nakaka-iyak dahil hindi kami sanay sa ganito. Hustisya lang ang kailangan namin. Hindi namin kailangan ‘yung pambu-bully nila sa amin,” she said. </p><p>The Marcos administration served the ICC arrest warrant for the former President on March 11 and on the same day sent him to The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC is based, to face his charges of crimes against humanity over his bloody drug war.</p><p>&quot;This harassment reflects the emboldenment of Duterte’s most aggressive supporters—paid trolls and hardline loyalists alike—enabled by a leadership that evades justice and feeds on fear and distortion,&quot; NUPL said.</p><p>The families of drug war victims said they would not be &quot;silenced&quot; by the intensified attacks.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/4/-bayaran-adik-sister-of-ejk-victim-flooded-by-new-hate-messages-fake-news-1337">&#x27;Bayaran, adik&#x27;: Sister of EJK victim flooded by new hate messages, fake news</a></div><p>&quot;We will keep pushing back—armed with the truth and backed by a growing movement for justice. We helped pave the way for Duterte’s arrest. We will not stop until justice is done,&quot; the group said.</p><p>Malacañang earlier flagged the barrage of &quot;fake news&quot; surrounding Duterte&#x27;s arrest, saying it was meant to sow chaos and confusion among his supporters.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/14/palace-flags-duterte-camp-for-fake-news-surrounding-icc-arrest-1356">Palace flags Duterte camp for &#x27;fake news&#x27; surrounding ICC arrest</a></div><p>Duterte supporters have also flooded the online profiles of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber-I Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc following her face off with Duterte at his initial appearance at the court.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/2/-stop-messaging-me-filipinos-bombard-wrong-nicholas-kaufman-on-facebook-1520">&#x27;Stop messaging me!&#x27;: Filipinos bombard wrong &#x27;Nicholas Kaufman&#x27; on Facebook</a></div><p>More recently, Americal novelist Nicholas Kaufmann urged Filipinos to &quot;stop messaging&quot; him after they confused him for Duterte&#x27;s ICC lawyer Nicholas Kaufman.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1JRAJ0VMY-4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>According to NUPL, the online attacks against families of EJK victims "intensified after the ICC issued a warrant of arrest for Duterte."</p>

According to NUPL, the online attacks against families of EJK victims "intensified after the ICC issued a warrant of arrest for Duterte."

'We will not be silenced': EJK victims' kin seek probe into 'intensified' online attacks

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'We will not be silenced': EJK victims' kin seek probe into 'intensified' online attacks

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

Karen De Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 04, 2025 03:17 PM PHT

|

Updated April 04, 2025 03:20 PM PHT

Read More:

EJK

Duterte

Rodrigo Duterte

ICC

social media

fake news

International Criminal Court

crimes against humanity

disinformation

misinformation

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