Philippines’ police probe online ‘assassination’ threat against Bongbong Marcos Jnr
- A TikTok post said ‘We are meeting everyday to prepare to have BBM assassinated. Get ready’
- The Department of Justice said ‘If a bomb joke is actionable, so is a threat of assassination, whether true or not’
The Philippines’ police are looking into claims of an alleged assassination threat against presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jnr that was made in a post on the social media platform TikTok.
At the Philippines National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, Chief General Gianardo Carlos said police are gathering more information following the Philippines’ justice ministry’s orders to investigate. “We will validate it … our commitment is to secure everyone, our commitment is for a peaceful election,” Carlos said.
Their investigation comes after Charito Zamora, the head of the DOJ’s cybercrime unit, said her office received a “text report” from a concerned citizen on Friday about a TikTok post which said: “We are meeting everyday to prepare to have BBM assassinated. Get ready.”
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Zamora referred the matter to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and requested TikTok to preserve data related to the account while authorities conduct a probe.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra said “If a bomb joke is actionable, so is a threat of assassination, whether true or not.”
“The NBI will give priority attention to any validated information pertaining to a threat to the personal security of any presidential aspirant,” said Guevarra.
Marcos, also known as Bongbong and BBM, is the son and namesake of the late Philippines strongman Ferdinand Snr He has emerged as a clear favourite in the May 9 presidential elections.
Marcos’s chief of staff, Vic Rodriguez, commended the justice ministry for “its swift and uncompromising response to uncover those behind this open threat to harm and kill presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos.”
“While this assassination plot is concerning, we are not cowered by such threat,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Apart from Marcos, those eyeing the presidency include former boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, Vice-President Leni Robredo and Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso.
Additional reporting by South China Morning Post
