Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro has lodged a report to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over an alleged death threat made against her in a Facebook post.

Castro went to the NBI headquarters in Manila on Tuesday, Jan. 13, to report a Facebook post made on Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles and Ahmed Paglinawan, which she tagged as "grave threats."

Castro was referring to a social media post made on Jan. 2., which mentioned about her having only her "appendix and coccyx" left unscathed once she is dropped by her "humans."

The post publicly criticized her behavior, and described her as a mere proxy, serving the interests of those currently in power.

While she reported the post to the NBI, Castro said she has yet to decide whether she would file a case or not.

"Sa ngayon kasi ang balak ko lang ay i-report. Kung magsasampa man ako ng kaso, pag-iisipan ko muna but kailangan ko lang kasing i-report ito para at least nga kung may mangyari man sa akin, may mga taong pwede silang maimbestigahan (For now, my plan is just to report it. If I decide to file a case, I will think about it first, but I need to report this so that, at the very least, if something happens to me, there will be people who can be investigated)," Castro said upon filing the report.

Castro admitted she felt scared when she read the post, stressing that it constitute a threat to her life.

"Of course, natakot ka kasi hindi ka naman sanay sa death threats, e. Pero kung sasabihin na appendix mo lang ang walang latay, iba kasi ibig sabihin nun. Meron itong pagbabanta sa iyong buhay, so iyon ang naramdaman ko. At up to now, yun pa rin ang nararamdaman ko kaya kailangan ko nang i-report 'to (Of course, you would be afraid because you are not used to death threats. But saying that only your appendix would be left unscathed carries a different meaning. It constitutes a threat to one’s life, that is how I perceived it. And up to now, that is still how I feel, which is why I need to report this)," Castro said.

The Palace official also pointed out that while everyone has the right to freedom of expression, there is no need to resort to threatening one's life.

"Ang sa atin lang naman, kung sinasabi nilang may freedom of expression sila. Lahat naman tayo dito ay dapat na ma-exercise ang ating freedom of expression at hindi na kailangan na kung ikaw man ay nag-o-oppose sa sinabi ng isang tao, ikaw ay magbabanta na sa buhay niya (Our point is simply this: if they claim to have freedom of expression. All of us should be able to exercise our freedom of expression and there is no need to resort to threatening someone’s life just because you oppose what a person has said)," Castro stressed.

"Hindi po nadadaanan ang anumang diskurso sa pagbabanta sa buhay yung pagiging bayolente, wag nilang gayahin yung mga idolo nila (No discourse is ever done through threats to life or through violence. They should not imitate their idols)," Castro added.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday night, the same Facebook page insisted that "there is no threat of any sort in the post."

Castro's move, the Facebook page argued, was "an attempt to suppress speech and expression that is critical of the Marcos administration."

"Ms. Castro has been called many things in other posts in other platforms, yet she never felt compelled to 'report' any of them to the NBI. The writers on this page however, have written many times about the failing of the current administration, with Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles even speaking out in public fora," the statement read.

"By making this report and publicizing it to the full extent that the resources of PCO (Presidential Communications Office) can, she intends an unmistakable chilling effect on others who post their opinions and criticism of Public Officials in the exercise of their official functions on social media. No surprise there. She is the very reason why our Constitution protects free speech and expression," it added.