Palace hands off on arrest of critics
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang officials yesterday distanced themselves from a series of arrests of individuals who openly criticized President Duterte and his allies on social media.
“We leave that to the authorities because they enforce the laws,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday.
Roque took note of the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which found that the National Bureau of Investigation’s warrantless arrest of public school teacher Ronnel Mas last week was invalid but that defect was “cured” when he admitted to members of media that he posted on Twitter an offer of P50 million for Duterte’s death.
The Palace issued a statement after some sectors questioned the crackdown on perceived critics of Duterte on social media.
“We leave it to the authorities but if authorities make a mistake, other government agencies correct it,” Roque said in Filipino.
The DOJ, however, is pursuing charges of inciting to sedition in relation to the anti-cybercrime law against Mas.
- Latest
- Trending
