The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) denounced on Monday, Jan. 27, the unlawful use of its logos and other insignia for malicious posts, that include promotion of online gambling.
This came after DILG Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla monitored that a certain mobile application “PCSO Lotto Online Award” and its linked Facebook Page “Online Lotto” intentionally misused the photos taken during a DILG event for an advertisement promoting the said online lottery application.
“The department has neither authorized nor granted permission to the said application, FB page, or any entity to use our materials, particularly for such purposes,’’ Remulla stated.
Remulla revealed that the photos were from the “Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) 2024 awarding ceremony and SGLG Incentive Fund National Expo”, which was about celebrating local governance excellence and was in no way related to any online lottery.
“We have already directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group to immediately investigate this matter. We have also reported this unauthorized use of DILG materials to META (previously known as facebook) for further action,’’ Remulla said.
The DILG chief urged the public to be more vigilant and immediately report any similar activity to the nearest DILG or PNP office.