Sen. Sotto's official website hacked

An unknown hacker defaced the official website of Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III early Monday morning with a statement that poked fun at the statesman and his stand on the country's education budget. In place of thel usual press releases on the site's main page is an open letter addressed to the public, penned as if written by the senator himself:

A closeup screengrab of Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III's official website as of 12:30am, 29Nov2010. GMANews.TV

"Ako si Tito Sotto (I am Tito Sotto), a musician and composer by profession, a sportsman by affiliation, and a public servant by conviction," the letter began, reiterating Sotto's personal slogan. But then the letter took a tongue-in-cheek turn: "Actually joke lang po yun (that's all just a joke), all I really wanted to do was make people laugh in Eat Bulaga. Harhar," the letter continued, referencing Sotto's early career as a host on a local noontime variety show. The letter also went on to make fun of the senator's remarks last Friday on recent student protests against the supposed cut in the national budget allocation for state universities and colleges (SUCs). "I would like to thank (the protesters) for making a hype about my 'ghost stories' statement, it really boosted my popularity among the masses. I'm actually thinking of running for the position of President next elections," the letter said. "Fight for greater state subsidy for senators! Uphold commercialization and state abandonment of education. Buong bansa, Eat Bulaga!," the letter concluded. The defacement was still up as of 2:00am. - GMANews.TV