'Hacking of CBCP website not connected to pro-life campaign'

MANILA, Philippines –  A website of one of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) commissions was hacked and defaced but a Church official doubted that it has to do with their pro-life campaign.

The welcome page of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Health Care (ECHC) website was reported to have been ruined by a computer hacker who identified himself as “LordDemon” with email address [email protected].

Those who would visit the website would be greeted by the back view of a man.

Upon learning about the hacking incident, CBCP Media Office director Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III restored the website to its original form in about five minutes.

Quitorio said he does not know who was behind the hacking but expressed doubt that it is in any way connected to their stand on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.

“I don’t see that the incident was related to the pro-life (stand of the Catholic Church) because if that was the case, then they should have attacked the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL),” Quitorio said. “I don’t think that they have a political or ideological agenda. If their intention was to hack the CBCP, they would have gotten the www.cbcponline.net and the www.cbcpnews.com.”

“I have a strong belief that it is not connected to our pro-life stand. The kids nowadays are good, I suspect this was done by computer geeks who are just trying to discover new things,” he added.

The ECHC website, one of the links in www.cbcponline.net, has existed for about a year and is one of the least viewed CBCP commission websites.

Quitorio also clarified that the ECHC uses the server Mabuhay Web Hosting Philippines (www.mabuhayhosting.com) for its website and not the CBCPWorld. 

The ECFL, headed by Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, is the commission leading the campaign against the passage of the RH Bill

Meantime, the CBCP-ECHC, chaired by Kabankalan Bishop Patricio Buzon, is tasked to create public awareness for the handicapped, establishing programs to help the deaf and the mute.