Some people are just sooo lucky.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday rejected the complaint filed by the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) against pro-government blogger Drew Olivar due to insufficient evidence.
Olivar, who had several brushes with infamy, posted on his Facebook account that a bomb might explode on EDSA the day before Sept. 21, the 46th anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law.
With his tail between his legs, he apologized for the post at a press conference over the weekend and said he didn’t want to scare people.
But for Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde, sorry just ain’t enough.
He said on Monday that his office will be filing a complaint against Olivar for violating Presidential Decree (P.D.) 1727, which declares illegal the act of propagating rumors of the existence of bombs and other explosives at a certain place.
Too bad the DOJ thought the police did a poor job gathering evidence.
Senior Inspector Myrna Diploma, an officer of the public information office of the NCRPO, told reporters: “We need to complete the evidence against Drew [Olivar] for it to be accepted by the DOJ.”
She also said that they have to coordinate with their Anti-Cybercrime Unit “to complete the evidence.”
According to the police, the DOJ wants to have the IP address of Olivar’s post and not just the screenshot.
Their receipt wasn’t enough.
NCRPO chief Police Director Guillermo Eleazar also told the media that they will reschedule the filing of criminal cases against the blogger but he didn’t give any definite dates.
Olivar is known as the sidekick of fellow blogger and Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson. He frequently appears on her Facebook live videos and is a proud DDS — that’s Duterte Diehard Supporter, the name given to vocal supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.
In other cases where a bomb joke was made in the country, especially at the airport, suspects were arrested almost immediately.
There was the case in June of the overseas Filipino worker who flew in from Riyadh who was arrested immediately upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after he threatened to blow up the plane when he was onboard.
So how come Olivar is still free?
Naturally, netizens are not happy with this development.
Twitter user @SyLicoNgaAko wrote: “As expected, dismissed due to technicalities; insufficient documents; in other words, the PNP did not collate necessary documentation and intentionally file the case expecting a dismissal?”
As expected, dismissed due to technicalities; insufficient documents; in other words, the PNP did not collate necessary documentation and intentionally file the case expecting a dismissal? @pnppio
— SyLicoNgaAko 裏科 (@SyLicoNgaAko) September 25, 2018
@MangTurning has advice for the authorities. “You should just let free those who were caught for making bomb jokes. This person even posted it on social media. Isn’t that evidence enough? The world has gone mad,” he wrote in Filipino.
Pakawalan nyo na lang din yung ibang hinuli ng pulis na narinig lang nila na nagbiro. Samantalang itong tao na ito e sa social media pag nagsabi. Di ba ibedensya yun? Baligtad na talaga ang mundo!
— Mang Turning (@MangTurning) September 26, 2018
Wrote @dizons_creek: “[T]he filing of the case was just for show..but on (sic) [T]rillanes’ case, full effort..”
The poster is referring to the case of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV who was ordered arrested yesterday in connection with the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege after Duterte revoked his amnesty.
the filing of the case was just a moro-moro..but on trillanes’ case, full effort..
— J2D2 (@dizons_creek) September 25, 2018
Olivar has become one of the most infamous DDS members in recent months, no thanks to several controversies of his own doing.
A week ago, he apologized for making fun of deaf people and sign language when he appeared on a Facebook Live video with Uson.
Critics also assailed him for making a salacious pro-federalism cheer in a video that also appeared on Uson’s Facebook account. In the cheer, Olivar chanted “I-pepe” while touching his crotch, to refer to the vagina; and “I-dede” while touching his chest, referring to a woman’s breast.
Do you think Olivar will get away scot-free? Leave a comment below or tweet to us at @CoconutsManila.
