MANILA, Philippines – Fear and alarm spread on social media Thursday, April 21, as Filipino voters learned that their personal information, which had been stolen during the Commission on Elections data breach, were already uploaded to a free-for-all site.
On the site, people can type in their names to check if their personal information is part of the leak.
To people's horror, as well, anyone can view any voter's data, just by conducting the simple search.
<a class="twitter-timeline" href="http://go.rappler.com/https://twitter.com/PHVote/timelines/723074322487603200" data-widget-id="723081714357014528">Netizen's outrage</a>
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<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FPlazaFrancis%2Fposts%2F10207305562051165&width=500" width="500" height="626" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSenyoraOfficial%2Fposts%2F1291353154225825&width=500" width="500" height="677" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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Some social media users tried to make light of the situation.
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<a class="twitter-timeline" href="http://go.rappler.com/https://twitter.com/PHVote/timelines/723085510445408256" data-widget-id="723085953422659584">Jokes</a>
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<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpolnix%2Fposts%2F10207714057667764&width=500" width="500" height="601" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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Others urged everyone to stop spreading the link as it could be dangerous.
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<a class="twitter-timeline" href="http://go.rappler.com/https://twitter.com/PHVote/timelines/723074583645945856" data-widget-id="723082529314492417">Stop the link</a>
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<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjsncrz%2Fposts%2F10153495100206615&width=500" width="500" height="281" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbriane.samson%2Fposts%2F10154268637338738&width=500" width="500" height="344" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Froger.tagabe%2Fposts%2F10154016780061226&width=500" width="500" height="162" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
<iframe src="http://go.rappler.com/https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbriggs.bondad%2Fposts%2F10209721370530533&width=500" width="500" height="255" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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One netizen advises people to be cautious, moving forward from this leak.
{source}<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjilagan%2Fposts%2F10154829055967796&width=500" width="500" height="732" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>{/source}
Rappler also urges the public not to share the link to the site, as doing so would make those whose information have been exposed even more vulnerable.
Be a wise netizen. – with reports from Aldrin Brosas & John Paul Laban/Rappler.com
Aldrin Brosas is a Rappler social media intern and a Communication Arts major from Aquinas University of Legazpi.
John Paul Laban is an AB Communication junior from Ateneo de Naga University. He is also an intern at Rappler.