After the shutdown of the Philippine's largest broadcast company that criticized Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the country's National Bureau of Investigation arrested two netizens who offered a bounty for the slaying of the president in social media and one who called the president 'crazy'.
On May 11, Ronnel Mas a 25-year-old public school teacher was nabbed by NBI operatives from his home in the province of Zambales. The teacher was accused of threatening the life of the Duterte by offering a PHP50-million to whoever could kill the president.
According to NBI-DADP chief Rizaldy Jaymalin, they received an order from NBI director Eric Distor to search for Mas, who resides in Barangay Poblacion North, Sta. Cruz Zambales.
Amid the investigation, it was found that Mas has deactivated the social media account that posted the bounty. However, the bureau was able to trace him through his online interactions.
The search for Mas became interprovincial as the authorities first looked into his mother's home in Pangasinan before he was able to be traced back to his residence in the nearby province of Zambales.
It was noted that Mas did not immediately admit to posting about the money offered to kill Duterte and said that his identity was used by someone who made a fake account in his name. However, when the NBi asked for his phone, he presented a severely damaged device which prompted the investigators to think he was trying to conceal evidence. Afterwhich, Mas broke down and admitted to the accusations.
The public school teacher will be charged with violation of Republic Act 6713, or ethical standards of public officials and inciting to sedition in relation to cybercrime.
Bounty doubled
Meanwhile, only a day following Mas' arrest, a 40-year-old construction worker was also arrested after he posted that he will double the PHP50 million reward money and will give PHP100-million to whoever could kill President Duterte.
Identified as Ronald Quiboyen, who resides at Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, the suspect was allegedly angered by the imposed lockdown regulations due to the coronavirus crisis.
According to the officer-in-charge of Crime Investigation and Detection Group in Western Visayas (CIDG-6),Lt. Col. Gervacio Balmaceda Jr., Quiboyen was immediately traced by the help of the Aklan Provincial Police Office, Malay Municipal Police Station, and CIDG's Anti-Cybercrime Group.
The netizen will be facing charges violating Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code in Relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Filipino Netizens Condemn Arrests
Aside from Mas and Quiboyen, another netizen was arrested on Wednesday for calling the president "crazy" on Facebook.
The arrests of netizens who have posted criticisms and have expressed opposition to the president have been condemned by Filipino netizens saying that those were violations of their freedom of expression. Netizens also called out to the NBI that they should have checked if the persons they arrested indeed had the capability to pay the bounties they offered.
Moreover, they were frustrated by what they called as "selective justice" system, saying that only Duterte critics were being nabbed while Duterte himself has repeatedly threatened to kill people during his public appearances.
Meanwhile, former Senator Antonio Trillanes, who has been very vocal on his opposition to the president released a statement condemning the arrests saying that those were clearly illegal and violations of the freedom of speech and expression.
