I thought I didn’t need to care about what has come to be called the ComeLEAK, or the Commission on Elections (Comelec) data leak. After all, soon after Anonymous Philippines took the official Comelec site down on March 27, the agency itself downplayed the hack.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said then: “For the most part, the databases are intact. But as I said, as standard with every intrusion, we are taking the time to really make sure na natanggal natin lahat ng [malware] code na pinasok dyan. You think you’ve gotten rid of the problem and you will realize that there is a backdoor that makes it easier for the next time around to do the same sort of things. That’s why we are taking this step by step.” (Interaksyon.com, 28 March)