Two siblings face criminal charges after sending online threats to target a school in Lipa City, Batangas, with police recovering gadgets now under examination.
‘It started back in August. A particular school in Lipa City kept receiving online threats – specifically, threats to wipe them out,’ said PNP public information office chief Col Allen Co in a press briefing on Tuesday.
‘We tracked them down and located them. We were able to secure a warrant to seize, examine, and search computer data, and we confirmed that the threats were indeed originating from them… It had become alarming; it was a genuine threat,’ he added.
Co said the younger sibling was an 18-year-old student at the school they threatened, while the older sibling is a 26-year-old production operator.
Authorities seized two mobile phones and a tablet believed to have been used for the online threats.
In one social media post, it said ‘If you don’t want any students getting dragged into this, show up early, cowardly cops. We aren’t afraid of you, and we’re a large group.’
Co said they really didn’t have the capability to get hold of firearms, let alone explosives.
‘The investigation is ongoing. It happened just recently. The operation was executed yesterday… The search warrant was served just this morning,’ said Co.
‘They should realize that what we do in the cyber world has real consequences,’ said Co.
Co said they were charged with alarm and scandal, with the incident classified under Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.