Hundreds of Facebook accounts that posted threats against Senator Risa Hontiveros have been turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation, the senator disclosed Thursday, as she pressed authorities and tech platforms to move against what she called a culture of impunity online.
“My staff has routinely deleted and reported these disturbing comments on Facebook, and we have submitted to the NBI the names and screenshots of hundreds of Facebook users who have threatened to kill me,” Hontiveros said.
She described the messages as part of a broader surge of violent rhetoric that followed the July 17 shooting of vlogger Alicia Lipata, better known online as Mima Alicia. Rather than expressions of sympathy, the senator said, the killing drew celebratory posts and calls for further violence, with many commenters warning that she would be targeted next.
“Sa halip na makiramay, may mga nagdiriwang sa gitna ng kamatayan at nag-uudyok pa ng karahasan. Ngayon naman, marami rin ang tahasang nagbabanta na ako daw ‘ang susunod,'” she said in a statement.
Hontiveros said the warnings are not being dismissed as mere online noise. “We are taking these threats seriously,” she stressed.
Lipata, identified as a supporter of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., was shot outside her residence in Caloocan City by assailants riding a motorcycle. Investigators have named two suspects, one of whom carries a record of prior cases.
The senator urged both law enforcement agencies and social media companies “to act decisively against this culture of impunity online,” arguing that threats against another person’s life should never be treated as ordinary discourse.
“Hindi dapat maging normal sa atin ang pagbabanta sa buhay ng ating kapwa. Kahit gaano kalalim ang pagkakaiba natin sa pulitika, may hangganan ang ating mga pagtatalo. We cannot allow such hatred to cost another life. We are better than this,” she said.
