CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines slammed the doxxing incident against two journalists in this city who have been critical of the government.

THE City Housing and Urban Development Department (CHUDD) office at the Cagayan de Oro City Hall. (Franck Dick Rosete)

In a statement released on Wednesday, November 8, the NUJP-Cagayan de Oro Chapter called on the city government to investigate the illegal act and hold the person behind the fictitious Facebook account who dropped the journalists’ documents accountable.

“Leaking sensitive information on social media is malicious, making it easier for malicious actors to target them both online and offline,” the NUJP-Cagayan de Oro Chapter said in a statement.

Doxxing is the practice of anonymous organizations or individuals publishing the documents of a victim online, including social media, that include sensitive, confidential, and private information.

In the past months, a fictitious Facebook account under the name of Joel Bugsay posted sensitive information on Facebook about Leonardo “Cong” Corrales of Mindanao Gold Star Daily and Menzie Montes of RMN and iFM Cagayan de Oro, including their families’ confidential information.

The exposed documents were information sheets from the City Housing and Urban Development Department (CHUDD) here, where these journalists availed of the socialized housing program of the city government.

Montes said that the exposed document has her worried, not because she availed of the program, but because the private information of her family, including dates of birth, was posted online.

City Mayor Rolando Uy’s political spokesperson, BenCyrus Ellorin, had earlier said that the city government has started an internal probe on the incident. Apart from this, Corrales and Montes, he said, can file formal complaints with the City Legal Office.

However, in a Facebook post, Corrales said he didn’t have to file a complaint. “They’ll have to explain this to the Ombudsman and the court of law for breaching my data privacy and violating the anti-cybercrime law of the Republic,” he said.

Uy, in an interview on Wednesday, November 8, believed that there’s always people who would want to undermine him, but he said he didn’t want to speculate since the investigation is ongoing.

According to the NUJP, Corrales has been a victim of red-tagging because of his critical journalism. On May 5, he filed a complaint with the National Privacy Commission, compelling Meta to provide details of the anonymous accounts that targeted and red-tagged him online.

Aside from the NUJP, the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) and the Movement Against Disinformation also expressed support for the two journalists and called on the authorities to take swift action on the incident.

Ellorin said the investigation is still in progress, but they will issue an update in due time.