By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz | Philippine News Agency
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has filed a cybercrime complaint against lawyer Jeryll Harold Respicio over alleged inflammatory social media posts that incite sedition or rebellion.
In a press conference at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office in Pasay City on Friday, CICC Executive Director Usec. Aboy Paraiso said he filed the complaint before the NBI for violations under the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
“This is a case of crime against public order committed online, and we do not tolerate such acts… We’ve been advocating for the responsible use of social media, and we expect this especially from professionals and public officials like him,” Usec. Paraiso said.
The evidence gathered by the CICC includes screen recordings of Respicio’s social media posts on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok that allegedly called on the public to stage a revolution against the government.
Among these social media content is a video uploaded on May 19 on Vice Mayor Respicio’s Facebook page that has around 1.1 million followers.
In the video, he asked his audience whether they were willing to start a revolution and has an embedded text that reads “rebolusyon ang sagot sa hindi gumagana na konstitusyon.”
If found liable, Respicio, who also serves as vice mayor of Reina Mercedes, Isabela, may face a penalty of imprisonment for six years or more.
In addition, Paraiso said Respicio’s social media content may be subjected to possible takedown measures through CICC’s partnership with Meta due to alleged crimes against public order.
He also warned the public to beware of posting and sharing malicious and illegal content on social media platforms.
The cybercrime complaint was personally delivered by Paraiso to NBI Director Melvin Matibag and was witnessed by Presidential Communications Office Usec. Precious Hipolito-Castelo.
