It’s common knowledge that pugnacious Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin doesn’t have much of a filter, as evidenced by past controversial tweets supporting Nazism, referring to Vice President Leni Robredo as “stupid,” and calling a journalist’s mother a “whore” because she reported a readily apparent fact.
Today, however, the notoriously undiplomatic top diplomat’s checkered Twitter history seems to have finally caught up to him, with an activist saying the platform had responded to a complaint by locking Locsin’s account after he appeared to call for the murder of members of the activist’s group.
Renato Reyes Jr., secretary-general of the leftist group Bayan (“Country”), posted to Facebook today a screengrab purporting to show a message from Twitter saying that Locsin’s account had been locked for violating the platform’s rules. The message, Reyes said, was in response to a complaint over an “offensive and threatening tweet accusing Bayan as communists that deserve to be shot.”
“We welcome this action by Twitter. For so long, Locsin thought he could get away with anything. But when he threatens harm on activists who are merely expressing their views, we will have to draw the line and fight back,” Reyes said.
Locsin’s original tweet said Bayan’s members are “f*cking communists. You shoot them. You don’t listen to them.” The comment was an apparent response to a news article explaining the group’s position on the Visiting Forces Agreement.
Reyes said Bayan is willing to engage Locsin in a civil debate, but would not allow him to use his bully pulpit to call for violence.
“He is abusive and appalling. We look forward to his return to Twitter and perhaps by then, [he will] learn some humility and tolerance in dealing with opinions that are different from his,” Reyes added.
A quick check of Locsin’s account showed the offending tweet was nowhere to be found (though Coconuts Manila saw the original), and the usually Twitter-crazy official’s last tweet was sent out last night.
According to its rules, Twitter prohibits content “that makes violent threats against an identifiable target. Violent threats are declarative statements of intent to inflict injuries that would result in serious and lasting bodily harm, where an individual could die or be significantly injured.”
Absolutely comrade. Sometimes I get this vision of a cell in Lubyanka where the floor slopes like a funnel to a drain. My best American friend was in Lubyanka. He gave me a most vivid account of life under communism. https://t.co/xl04WsS4YY
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) March 9, 2020
At about 6:20pm today, Locsin got out of Twitter jail, and his release was welcomed by Reyes himself, who said, “Let’s all welcome back to Twitter Teddyboy Locsin who by now should have learned his lesson. We hope he starts treating with respect those who hold differing views. Stop wishing that they be shot.”
Locsin gamely responded to Reyes by saying, “Absolutely comrade. Sometimes I get this vision of a cell in Lubyanka where the floor slopes like a funnel to a drain. My best American friend was in Lubyanka. He gave me a most vivid account of life under communism.”
Did you miss Locsin when he was temporarily stuck in Twitter jail? Tell us by leaving a comment below or tweeting to @CoconutsManila.
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