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MANILA, Philippines — Families of victims of extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration have sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against online harassment and fake news targeting them.

The victims’ relatives, along with International Criminal Court (ICC) assistant to counsel Kristina Conti, filed affidavits and formal complaints before the NBI Cybercrime Division at its headquarters in Pasay City yesterday.

They urged authorities to look into social media accounts spreading disinformation and threatening both victims’ families and their legal representatives.

Among those who filed complaints was “Aling Shiela,” who became a target of online bashing after a photo of her holding a picture of her dead son circulated on social media.

Conti confirmed that the NBI has accepted five complaints related to online threats and harassment.

“They have received our complaints, five in total, and they said they will assign an agent to assist us,” Conti said.

“Dhalia,” another complainant and relative of a drug war victim, expressed dismay over the threats and ridicule they have received while seeking justice for their loved ones.

“I never imagined that instead of receiving sympathy, we would be mocked and threatened just for demanding justice,” Dhalia said in Filipino.

“We turned to the NBI for help in identifying those harassing us online because while we have waited so long for justice, the abuse we endure from these bashers has only worsened,” she said.

Sheerah Escudero, whose brother Ephraim was killed in 2017, said she began receiving hate messages on Facebook after expressing willingness to testify in the ICC’s case against former president Rodrigo Duterte.

She accused online trolls of spreading misinformation, including an edited photo falsely portraying her as a fabricator of fake news. One post, she said, reached four million views.

Escudero said that she consulted a lawyer and is gathering evidence of harassment. She is also calling on government agencies to investigate the spread of disinformation, saying some content creators have threatened other victims’ families.

In a statement, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), of which Conti is a member, said the harassment experienced by the ICC lawyer and the victims “reflects the emboldenment of Duterte’s most aggressive supporters – paid trolls and hardline loyalists alike – enabled by a leadership that evades justice and feeds on fear and distortion.”

“By casting legal action as persecution and turning survivors into targets, Duterte’s camp is trying to kill accountability before it can take root,” it said. — Janvic Mateo