Authorities are investigating a TikTok account for allegedly threatening to assassinate presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., according to a statement from his presidential campaign on Sunday.
"We are meeting everyday to plan for BBM’s assassination. Get ready," the TikTok user allegedly said, prompting the cybercrime office of the Department of Justice to investigate according the statement.
"As a matter of procedure, we immediately proceed in having it investigated because of the seriousness of the subject. It’s really an actionable intelligence concern,” DOJ cybercrime group officer-in-charge Charito Zamora was quoted as saying in the statement.
Zamora said the DOJ asked TikTok to "preserve the data related to the subject account while the Philippine authorities are working on the legal process for its disclosure.”
Keri Woods of TikTok Law Enforcement Outreach was quoted as saying that the platform was working on the request of the DOJ cybercrime investigators.
The DOJ cybercrime group also asked its counterparts in the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to assist in determining the extent of the "kill plot" and the personalities behind it, the statement read.
Vic Rodriguez, spokesperson for Marcos, said that while the report of the assassination plot was concerning, the candidate and his supporters would not be "cowered by such threat."
"Bongbong shall continue to personally deliver his message around the country with firm resolve to unify the nation," he said.
"We commend the cybercrime office of the Justice department, through Sec. Menardo Guevarra, for its swift and uncompromising response to uncover those behind this open threat to harm aspiring president Bongbong Marcos," he added.
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