Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace press officer Atty. Claire Castro has sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after allegedly receiving death threats from a Facebook page critical of the government.
Castro personally went to the NBI headquarters in Pasay City to report a January 2 post published by the Facebook page “Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles and Ahmed Paglinawan,” which she said contained language that could be interpreted as a threat to her life.
According to Castro, the post stated that “if you are dropped by your humans, only your appendix and coccyx will be without bruises.” She said the remark alarmed her and prompted her to formally document the incident with authorities.
Castro told reporters that while she has not yet decided whether to file formal charges, she wanted the incident on record in case anything untoward happens to her. She stressed that while public officials are open to criticism, freedom of expression should not cross into threats of violence.
The Palace official added that the alleged threats came amid heightened online reactions to her recent public statements, which have drawn strong responses from government critics.
The administrators of the Facebook page in question denied that their post constituted a criminal threat, saying it was not meant to harm Castro and accusing her of attempting to stifle free speech. They argued that the statement did not meet the legal definition of a “grave threat” and questioned why she chose to report this particular post.
As of this writing, the NBI has not released details on whether a formal investigation has been initiated. Castro said she is leaving the matter to authorities while weighing her legal options.
