There’s nothing funny about bomb jokes. In fact, making one could land you in jail.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde announced today that his office will file a formal complaint against pro-Duterte blogger Drew Olivar. Olivar will be charged with violating Presidential Decree (P.D.) 1727 after he posted on his Facebook account that a bomb might explode on EDSA, Manila’s main thoroughfare.
The post was written in Filipino and read: “It’s so scary to join a rally on EDSA because the Plaza Miranda bombing might happen again! If I were you, I wouldn’t go there.”
Olivar is referring to the incident which occurred at Plaza Miranda in Manila in 1971 where a campaign rally organized by the Liberal Party (LP) was bombed. No one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the crime, although some have theorized that it was masterminded by former president Ferdinand Marcos or the Communist Party of the Philippines’ founder Jose Maria Sison.
As of today, Olivar’s post could no longer be found on his Facebook account. It was posted on Thursday, the day before Sept. 21, the 46th anniversary of Marcos’ declaration of martial law. A number of protests for and against Marcos and President Rodrigo Duterte were scheduled on Sept. 21.
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.
In a press briefing, Albayalde told the media in a mix of Filipino and English: “He wasn’t arrested during that time because he wrote it quite a long time ago, but he will be formally charged in court.”
Albayalda announced this despite Olivar’s appearance at a press conference at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Saturday where he apologized for his actions.
He said to the reporters in a mix of English and Filipino: “I didn’t have any intention to scare people, to scare Filipinos.”
He said that he just wanted to remind people who will be holding rallies on Sept. 21 to be careful.
P.D. 1727 declares unlawful the dissemination of any threats concerning bombs, explosives, and other similar devices. It also declares illegal the act of propagating rumors of the existence of bombs and other explosives at a certain place. Those guilty will be imprisoned for not more than five years and will be fined not more than PHP40,000 (more than US$737).
Bomb jokes in the Philippines are taken seriously. An overseas Filipino worker flying from Riyadh was arrested in June this year upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after he threatened to blow up the plane when he was onboard.
In August, a man was arrested when he made a bomb joke while he was boarding a flight bound for Cotabato City.
This is not Olivar’s first brush with infamy. 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.
It remains to be seen if Olivar will learn his lesson after this latest controversy.
